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ALONG THE LINE OF THE 



Texas & Pacific ^y. 



"To people seeking New Homes, Good Healtl^, an Eqjoyable 
Clinqate, a Fruitful Soil and New Opportuqities, 
this book is specially dedicated, 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 

OF THE 

TEXAS & PACIFIC RAILWAY, 
Dallas, Texas. 



.T3 5 



22\\ii^ 




?3Cfl 



ALONG THE LINE OF. . . 



(A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW.) 




The Texas & Pacific Railway. 

an expanse of country, Ss miles lon7" anY 740 ^S'^^'H ^'T' ■' '^"'' '^^ '^°''"^ "^ '"'"d that 
miles, is under consideration If il^f.? - T'^'^' 'Containing an area of 252,514 square 

and greater in areaThTnaTtwo States situ^^^^^^^^^ ^"^^^^ States combined, 

of Europe, it has 34,000 Lrre mSs more thnn til A ^/^.^'^^'PP' ^'^^'- Compared to the countries 
Empire, and nearly 70,000 square miles i^ore than France " ^"P"""' '''°"° ™°''^ ^^^° '^^ G^r'"^" 

resourJeVTndee^d'lL'Lrf^Lnftieltlt"^^^^^^^^^^ vast a domain, a uniformity as to soils, climate or 

the United States. It is a vast inclined Sain w^^h . o-r.^f , 7 features common to no other commonwealth in 
the Gulf of Mexico. For cc^ivVtde^^^ce oF descrfBti^n Yt hi. h T '^^ ""J:'^""^" """^ northwestern boundary to 

parts, commonly known as Centraf Nor hern S;rn F.'.?'' general custom, been divided geographically into five 
not by any means well defined In tSpuWka^ron^^^^^^ Western Texas, though the dividing lines are 

JorminJ^l^d^b^Sri^S^ ton ^\^l-^Z:^ ^S^' '^^^^ f^^ -f- -^ ^ ^ '"^^es. 
from the mainland by long but narrow bavs i. a rWn Tici i ^'^^f°''^^: Seaward a few miles distant, separated 
from Sabine Lake to Lrpu's ChrSral^'Sc to the i^u h of thJ Rio £3^''^^'"'"^ '° V''^ l'^^'^' •'- 
change from terra firma to tidewater is almost imperccD ib e ow n! tnit ^ ^7 ^^^"^^ ''^""^ *^^ ^°^s^ the 

of the coast counties are as a rule very ferSe p3ucS ab^ndTnti of ^ T"'"' ^'f^T^ ''°P' °^ *" '""'^- ^^^ ^°"« 
island cotton and semi-tropical fruits Ar ficiTiainap-e i^ntJl^ ^ vegetables, sugar cane, corn, rice, sea- 

comers suffer more or less from malaria anrLirred!?!,^..?.?.^^^ many places, and in some localities new 

salubrious and healthful ^^ ailments, though as a whole the coast country is considered 



Northern Texas is generally understood to mean the first three or four tiers of counties soavn of Red River, 
west of the 96th meridian and extending westward to a line drawn from Henrietta south to Dublin. Along Red River 
the prevailing soils are red sandy loams, changing into gray and black loams further south. Beyond these are the 
famous black waxy lands, noted for their great crops of small grain, cotton, corn and hay. A fringe of timber extends 
along Red River, and along the western edge of this division of the State are two long narrow belts of timber known as 
the Upper and Lower Cross Timbers. Along the various streams is also a good growth of forest, but as a whole this 
part of Texas should be designated a rich prairie country. 

Northwest of northern Texas is a territory of some 45,000 square miles, commonly known as the Texas 
Panhandle, a vast expanse of open prairie covered with a luxuriant growth of nutritious grasses, affording pasturage 
for the great herds of cattle and flocks of sheep for which Texas is noted. This vast plain varies in altitude from 
2,000 feet to 5,000 feet. 

Eastern Texas, including some eighteen counties, is heavily timbered with fine merchantable woods, and from 
here are drawn nearly all the immense supplies of pine lumber required in the prairie portions of the State. A long 
range of low hills, containing large deposits of brown hematite iron ore, runs through this region from northeast to 
southwest. Large beds of lignite and potters' clays are found in several places, and the natural resources afford many 
opportunities for industrial developments. The prevailing soils are light sandy loams in the pineries and ferruginous 
clays on uplands. The bottom lands are usually dark sandy loams, all of them fairly fertile and very well adapted to 
the cultivation of fine fruits and commercial truck gardening. Fair crops of corn, cotton and cereals are also produced. 

Central Texas embraces the rich prairie region between the coast lands and the northern counties, extending 
westward to about the 99th meridian. It is a great plain, covered with a luxuriant growth of natural grasses, inter- 
spersed occasionally with small areas of timber, and fringes of timber along the numerous water courses. While 
furnishing an abundance of fuel and fencing material, very little of this forest growth is available for lumber or 
building purposes. The prevailing soil is the "black waxy," so called from its color and adhesive qualities. It is 
the richest and most durable soil in the State, and is very well adapted to the cultivation of small grain, corn, cotton 
and hay. It varies from twelve inches to many feet in depth, is a great absorbent and retainer of water, and is not 
appreciably affected by washing. Commercial fertilizers, so commonly used in the States east of the Mississippi, are 
not at all used in Texas, and black waxy lands have been in continuous cultivation for 30 years without anj' material 
decrease in the yield. This region has no local causes for diseases and public health is good, excepting possibly 
some slight malarial ailments along some of the river bottoms. 

Western Texas may be said to include all of the country west of the 99th meridian. For a distance of 50 to 
100 miles west of the dividing line, the country is more or less undulating, rolling or broken, covered in part with an 



abundant growth of post oak, black jack and other timber Intersoer^pH ar^ cn.oii ^ • ■ ■ , 

of mesquite timber, and numerous small but very fertnrvallevT Tn fl^c f%'"/^^ praines with a scattering growth 
variety in the soils, there being some sandy areas covered Jth J^ll ^^l °^ ^^^'^"-a Jexas there is considerable 
andsmallvalleyswithblackhLvysoils Along the BrloTR^ oak mesquite flats of a rich brown loam, 

colored and red loams of great fertility. Beyond^£: tfr^b^r^e^tTe Sg^eV tT^^rfeT. iSfg LTself^ SL^ 



GATHERING WATKRMELOXS IN TEXAS. 



'^uL'^TsS'olZ'^^^^^^ rfr/'^^^ ^°-^->'- ^^^y '-l"de the famous' 

mountain ranges. The altitudes vai^^from f sn^T ?. ^; nnf/^"^ ^^^^l'-' '^' ^'^^^ ^'^h table lands and still hic^her 
great number of farms is eSSiallvTstor-k ™S2 . 6,000 feet. This portion of the State, though containing a 

of revenue of the inhabi ants ^ stock-raising country, and the raising of live stock forms the principal soufce 




. Historical. 

Rio Grande lend a color of tfutS^rthese trad£^^^^^^^ ''"'^ T"'^^" °^ */ \"^^^ «^ ^^e Gila River and the 

was effectually broken up by Te Spa Sh con S .^ ""^"^^'"^^ ^^ the old confederation of tribes 

the tribes, and that was du4g the P iblo rebelHon in the mh TZ "^"'"ff ^'f '^"'l '^'"'''''''^ "^^^^"^ ^"°"g 
Mexico and Texas, and for half a cent!:^; ;S:S;d"a:;YndeTen?erS;eT!re:.^^ '^°^'^ ^'^ "'^^"^^^'^ °"^ °^ ^- 

explore?the clr"e"of the Rio 'Gra'dt fS into^N^^M"''' '^ ""^ j"'^"^ ^""^^ ^^'^^^^ "' V-°- "^ ^^.S, who 
southeasterly, visited the headwaters of the Oon°hfir^ ?' """'"^"^ ""^''""''^ '° '^'' ^^^°'^- ^'^""^'^^ its course 

nearly all the PueWo townrthen exists andTn^S??r'v" '"'""'"'^ to Mexico. During his journey, he visited 

SaXd^EV?^'°"^f.-^^"'^"™^^^^^^ '" '"' "^™^ °^ ^'^ ^^"^ °^ 

reached El Paso, on the extreme western frontier of Texas. On their arrival, 

they formed a mission for the conversion of the natives. A colony of 
Spaniards under Don Antonio de Otermin, settled there in 1681 The 
tlvar't'he 1 !l '"^""^^ *-' ^^'^^° '"'^'""^' ^^°^^ descendants still cul- 
owns n tbrv',r ^\° ^'^u'^' ^"""^y- ^''^'"^ t^^t they had well-built 

town n V^l 7 Z ^' f ^ ^' 'K^^'^' ^""*"''^' ^"d that Chihua, now the 
IZ K -.y ^' 'tn'^ ^ '^^^'°" °" the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway, 
was bu, t some 200 years before the arrival of the Spaniards and tha 

Twn^n tr^'^- "' *?^ ^^'" "^'•"^^'" '"""'^■P^^ Rovernment: as it c me 
down to them in regular succession. If their claims can be substantiated, 





MISSION SAN JOSE. 



MISSION SAN JUAN. 



the town of Ysleta has had 500 years of continuous municipal government, originally Indian, then Spanish, then 
Mexican, and now American. The Tihuas, ^Iso spelled Tehuas, were the strongest Pueblo tribe along the Rio 
Grande, at the time of the Spanish conquest. They maintained several large towns and had garrisons in others. 
The name of this tribe was probably given by the Spaniards to the territory they occupied — Texas. 

In 1685, Robert de la Salle, in company with 300 Frenchmen, while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi 
River, landed at what is now known as Matagorda. At a place now known as Dimmitt's Point, he erected Fort St. 
Louis, and named the country Louisiana, in honor of Louis XIV. This fort was captured by the Indians a few 
months later and the garrison was eitlier killed or made captive. The French laid claim to the country by virtue of 
La Salle's discovery. The King of Spain claimed it under prior discoveries, and sent a force under command of 
Alonzo de Leon, to dislodge the French, but he found the fort in ruins. The French prisoners among the Indians were 
recovered and kindly sent to their friends. 

De Leon again visited Texas in 1690, and established missions among the Indians at Presidio, on the Rio Grande. 
In 1692, the settlement and mission of San Fernandes, now San Antonio, was begun. The missions of Goliad and 
Nacogdoches were founded in 1717, and the mission of the Alamo in 1744. The work of establishing missions was 
continued up to 1790, and in 1794 all missions were secularized. In 1762, France ceded to Spain all its claims made by 
virtue of La Salle's discovery. In 1800, Louisiana again became a colony of France, and in 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte 
sold it to the United States. In 1819, the Sabine River was fixed as the southwestern boundary of Louisiana. 

Texas remained under Spanish dominion from 1661 to 1822, 161 years, and had, during that period of time, 22 
Spanish governors. From 1822 to 1835, it was part of Mexico, and had, during that time, 7 Mexican governors. In 
1823, Stephen F. Austin, with a colony of 300 families, arrived at San Antonio. The Mexican States of Coahuila and 
Texas were at that time under one government. In order to promote the settlement of Texas, very liberal concessions 
had been granted, and under these, Americans came in rapidly, up to 1835, when the Texan revolution broke out. 
The failure of the Mexican government to carry out the terms of the agreement, and the attempt to enforce new and 
onerous laws and restrictions relating to political and religious matters, provoked a determined resistance, which 
resulted in the Mexican defeat at San Jacinto, and the capture of the Mexican President, Santa Anna. From 1835 to 
1846, Texas was an independent republic, existing as such 11 years. During that period of time it had 6 presidents. 
On July 4th, 1845, an agreement of annexation to the United States was ratified by the Convention of Texas, and on 
December 29th, 1845, the Congress of the United States, by joint resolution, declared Texas annexed to the Union. 
From 1846 to the present time, Texas has been a State of the United States, and during these 52 years, has had 24 
governors, elected by the people. Texas seceded from the Union, February 1st, 1861, but was reinstated in 1870. 
From 1661 to 1898, 237 years, Texas has been under some form of organized government. 



"" ''^J^i^v^i^ 




LDMBER INDUSTRIES IN TEXAS. 



Distribution of Population, 1890. 

Less tban 3,000 inhabitants in Conntj. 
Between 3,000 and 12,000 inhabitants 

in County. 
Between 12,000 and 30,000 inhabitants 

in County. 
Between 30,000 and 70,000 inhabitants 

in County. 



\ |C K E#6i<«»sO" |f * M HnttLi^l.i" R I V E 8J^*1*^^^: 



,►50 



EL PASO 



rp 



f 'v^-S^J J •.±i-n:?j 1 

/^ ^\ V' ^^ 

i E f f 0„A V I S \ P t C S 
— ......... X\ 

N^^ \ 



Distribution of Taxable Property 

in Texas, 1897. 
Valuation under $2,000,000 in Countj. 
Taluation between $2,000,000 and 

$0,000,000 in County. 
Vaiuation between $6,000,000 and 

$15,000,000 in County. 
Taluation between $15,000,000 and 

$35,000,000 in County. ' 



i 



ri..... 

|C D ► it 



<>»so 



EL P A S I 



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JEtr DAVISX P E C 



L ^^ 



Map No. I. 



Tiffi Settlement of TexcAs. 




ITH the passing of Mexican supremacy in Texas came a great increase of population. Thousands of 
hardy settlers pushed their way to the new Republic from the Southeast and brought with them their 
families, their live stock and other belongings. Transportation was slow and tedious, and up to 1870 
the counties near the Gulf of Mexico and those convenient to the several navigable streams, received 
the greater part of the immigration that came to the State. Systematic farming could be carried on 
profitably only in such localities where transportation was easy. Corn and small grain were principally 
grown for home consumption, cotton being the principal article of export. In the agricultural regions, a 
number of good business towns grew up, and from these were supplied the more remote localities, in which for want 
of economical transportation the engrossing pursuit of the inhabitants was the raising of cattle, horses and other live 
stock. These could travel to market on their own hoofs, and time was less valuable than now. There was 
considerable of home comfort and of primitive conveniences; a chronic scarcitj' of ready money prevailed, but most 
farms produced what was needed for home consumption, and the few extras needed were readily supplied by the sale 
of a few bales of cotton or a few steers. The manufacturing enterprises consisted of a limited number of grist mills, 
saw mills and cotton gins. Daily newspapers, daily market reports, crop mortgages and other incidentals of a later 
day were practically unknown. 

During the civil war, agricultural and pastoral pursuits were practically abandoned, and at its close the State 
was greatly impoverished. The great forests of yellow pine and valuable hardwoods in eastern Texas had hardly 
been touched by the woodman's axe. Steam saw mills were few and far between, and lumber was laboriously hauled 
several hundred miles by ox teams and was high in price. From the timber belt to the Brazos River were vast 
stretches of rich black prairies, sparsely stocked with cattle, and dotted here and there with a small town and a 
struggling agricultural community. Be5^ond the Brazos, the Comanche, Lipan, Kickapoo and other tribes made the 
country unsafe, the few settlements existing being generally in the vicinity of some Government Fort. 

Between 1870 and 1882 was the period of greatest activity in railroad construction, and most lines now in 
operation were built at that time. Quick, cheap and easy communication was established with the important trade 
centers of the North and East and St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago became active competitors for Texas lumber, 
cotton, cattle, wool and small grain. The new railways brought to the State new people, new wealth, new industries, 
new markets, new demands for products, which were before that time salable only in limited quantity. The immi- 
gration poured into the State like as unto a crevasse pouring over a retaining dyke. The waters first reach the lower 



levels through numerous channels in all directions. So with the human tide which poured iu and distributed itself 
over a vast area, opening up farms and building new towns where easy transportation was assured. The mild climate, 
the fruitful soils, the great diversity in production and the very low values of real estate attracted many thousands of 
new settlers, who created a demand for food products unheard of before, and an era of prosperity was inaugurated 
which has never flagged since. Hundreds of thousands of new farm homes were founded, more railroads were built, 
hundreds of saw mills, flouring mills, grist mills, cotton gins and other establishments were erected, cities and towns 
sprang up as by magic, and the foundation of an Empire was laid and built to last for all time. In less than one 
generation the limit of successful agriculture was moved from the piney woods of east Texas to the flower bedecked 
prairies along the 100th meridian, and far beyond this under the shadows of the Rocky Mountains, men have turned to 
account the limpid waters of the mountain streams, impounded them, led them through canals and ditches to make 
fruitful farms amid great pastures. The immigrant has crowded the stockman far beyond the Brazos River, and he 
in turn crowded out the Comanche Indian and his brethren. Yet the work of settlement is not finished; another 
generation will have to complete the work. Railroads now gridiron the eastern third of the State, the most fertile 
region in America, maintaining a population of over 2,000,000, and the northwestern, western and southwestern 
regions contain fully 1,000,000 more. 

In 1850 the population was 212,592, and the taxable value of property $33,322,115; in 1860, population 
604,215, tax valuations $164,338,133; in 1870, population 818,579, tax valuations $170,473,738; in 1880, 1,591,749 
population, and $318,960,736 taxable values. The census of 1890 shows a population of 2,235,523, and $782,111,883 
in valuations. The increase in population in the 10 years from 1880 to 1890 was 40.4 per cent. Assuming a similar 
increase for the present decade, Texas ought to have a population of 3,138,674 in the year 1900. The valuations for 
1897 amount to $850,309,246, but do not show a proportionate increase, in consequence of the general depression in 
values common to the whole country during the last five years. The taxable values have increased from $156.74 per 
capita in 1850 to $270.59 per capita in 1897, and the density of population has increased from -rwo inhabitants per 
square mile in 1850 to 8too per square mile in 1900. 

The citizens of Texas are wide awake, energetic and progressive, and they know that in the strength of 
numbers, the aggregation of wealth, lies safety for the present and power for the future. They want the advantages 
of their State to be well known and wish every one to come and share them, and aid in building up and fulfilling the 
destiny of the richest and strongest State in the Union. 



12 



The Texc4s & ^Acmc RailwcAy, 




-T may not be generally known, but it is nevertheless the fact, that the idea of building a railroad across 
the continent to the Pacific was originally conceived in reference to the route adopted for the present 
Texas & Pacific Railway, as early as 1852, when the Legislature of Texas granted the first charter. 
But so doubtful were capitalists as to the practicability of the enterprise, and of its commercial 
value, that 8 years after the grant, less than 25 miles of the road had been completed within the State 
of Texas. The fact was that the original projectors of this enterprise were a decade in advance of the 

times. Of course, nothing was done during the Civil War, but interest was re-awakened in 1871, when Congress 

granted the present company's charter, providing for a railroad extending from Eastern Texas to the Pacific Ocean. 
While all the hopes and plans of the original projectors have not been fully realized, there nevertheless exists 

the great Southern thoroughfare between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Texas & Pacific Railway, as now 

constructed, constitutes 1,506 miles thereof, 1,138 of which are within 

the borders of Texas, and 368 miles of which are in Louisiana. With 

the eastern termini at Texarkana and New Orleans, the Texas & 

Pacific Railway runs in a westerly direction, through the northern 

part of Texas, to El Paso, connecting at that point with the Southern 

Pacific Railway to the Pacific Coast, and with the Mexican Central 

Railway to Mexico. This, the main line, via Marshall and Dallas, has 

a length of 869 miles; the Trans -Continental Division, from Texar- 
kana to Fort Worth, via Sherman, has a length of 259 miles, and the 

New Orleans Division, extending from New Orleans, La., to Marshall, 

Texas, has a length of 368 miles. With its connections, it forms one 

of the most important routes of traffic between the Gulf States and the 

upper Mississippi Valley, between the Gulf and the great Northwest, 

between the Atlantic Coast and the Pacific Coast, and between Mexico 

and the entire North and Northeast. Crossing two great States from 

east to west, it connects with every important railway line in Texas 

and Louisiana, and all points in Texas, Mexico, New Mexico, Indian 

Territory, and Louisiana, can be reached by way of the Texas & Pacific 




Railway. In Texas, the railway traverses 32 counties, but the greater part of its traffic may be said to come from a strip 
of country about 100 miles wide, extending from Texarkana to El Paso. Within this strip are 74 counties, having a 
population of about 1,000,000. There are 897 cities, towns, villages and postoffices within the territory mentioned, 
and among these are some of the most important commercial and manufacturing cities in the State. In this area are 





RIO GRANDE DIVISION TEXAS 6i i'ACIFIC UAILW.^V. 



CHAIR CAR 487. 



the cities of Texarkana, Jefferson, Atlanta, Marshall, Longview, Mineola, Terrell, Dallas, Fort Worth, Clarksville, 
Bonham, Sherman, Denison, Denton, Pilot Point, Weatherford, Thurber, Baird, Cisco, Abilene, Sweetwater, 
Colorado, Big Springs, Midland, Pecos and El Paso, on the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway, and Greenville, 
Commerce, Sulphur Springs, Mount Pleasant, Gilmer, Tyler, Athens, Corsicana, Hillsboro, Mount Vernon, Troupe, 



14 



Overton, Henderson, McKinney, Waxahachie, Decatur, and others on connecting lines, within 40 miles of the Texas 
& Pacific Railway. Forty per cent of the- whole population of the State has its home here, and the density of 
population is IIto to the square mile, while in the State at large it is a little over 8 persons to the square mile. 
About 41-1% per cent of the entire acreage under cultivation in the State is located along the line of the Texas & 
Pacific Railway, and while this ' 
section of the State is more densely 
settled than any other, there is 
nevertheless room for many thou- 
sand newcomers. 

The different zones of re- 
source peculiar to the country 
traversed by the Texas & Pacific 
Railway are perhaps best shown by 
an imaginary trip over the line. 
From New Orleans, a few feet 
above sea -level, west for many 
miles, are thousands of acres de- 
voted to the cultivation of sugar 
cane and rice. Further northwest, 
skirting the south bank of Red 
River, is a large area, planted an- 
nually in cotton, corn and sugar 
cane. Approaching the Texas 
border and extending into the State 
100 miles or more, are great forests 
of yellow pine, cypress, white oak, 
ash, sweet gum, and other valuable 
woods, interspersed at intervals 
with flourishing towns, lumber 
camps, and well-kept orchards and 
farms. The annual lumber product 

15 




is valued at about $7,000,000. In the same region are found extensive deposits of iron re, and brick, fire and 
potters' clays. Early fruits are grown extensively and exported fresh to the Northern markcs. The standard field 
crops of the country are corn, oats and cotton. While pasturage for cattle is not very abudant, the forests afford 
mast in almost unlimited quantity, and hogs are produced in great numbers. 

From the edge of the timber, say from Edgevvood Station, in Van Zandt County, west^ird to the Brazos River, 
a distance of about 140 miles, are the famous black waxy prairies of Northern Texas, and o the Trans -Continental 
Division of the Texas & Pacific Railway, the rich, loamy Red River lands. This section )f the State is densely 
settled, and produces vast quantities of cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye, millet, sorghum and vegetables. The counties 
fronting on Red River are also famous for their fine fruits. Stock raising, in counectionvith general farming, is 
carried on extensively, and the finest grades of horses, mules, cattle and hogs in the State wl be found on the farms 
in this region. The altitude of this section is from 400 to 800 feet above sea -level. 

Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers, a distance of 175 miles, lies a stretch of ferte country, part smooth, 
open prairie, part rugged timber land, which is admirably adapted to the profitable raising of livstock of all descriptions, 
and yet produces magnificent crops of cereals, as well as cotton and corn. In quality, weigt, and quantity per acre, 
the cereals grown in this part of the State seem to excel those of other States. The altitua above sea-level is from 
1,000 to 2,000 feet. The annual rainfall is not so abundant or as regular as further east, ut fairly good crops are 
made year after year. Land is cheap, and while there is much good farm land, there is muh more better suited for 
pasturage. Great forage crops are annually grown, and these, used in connection with te very abundant natural 
pasturage, make it possible to produce great numbers of cattle, horses and sheep at very siall cost. Wool, hides, 
beef cattle, mutton sheep, wheat, oats, corn, and cotton, are the principal sources of income. Compared with Eastern 
and Northern Texas, the region is thinly settled. In several of the counties of this regio exist great deposits of 
coal, and several very extensive mines are profitably worked. 

From the Colorado to the Pecos River extend vast open plains, affording most excellet pasturage, and having 
a mild and equable climate. The distance between the two rivers is 170 miles, and the altiide varies from 2,000 to 
3,000 feet, the changes in level being abrupt and rising westwardly in a series of table-lans. More or less farming 
for forage is carried on for ranch uses, but the raising of live stock and the production of 'ool are the engrossing 
pursuits of the inhabitants. Great numbers of cattle and horses, and many million pouns of wool and hides, are 
annually exported. Most ranches have wells and windmills, and a few acres of irrigated Ian, on which are produced 
the finest of table fruits, such as fancy grapes, apples, peaches, pears, prunes, nectarines, ei. 

The Trans-Pecos country lies west of the Rio Pecos and extends to the Rio Grandi a distance of 215 miles. 
It is a region of elevated table-lands, broken by numerous high mountain ranges. Most of hese table-lands lie from 



16 



wCatxran'r^Vow^ ^^°- ^ff° *« ^'^OO ^-t higher. The table-lands are covered 

consequent drynfss. •Lel:ou;ta?ns are r df Tn'tinefair'SrS^^^^^^^ °^'7 ^° ^^^'^ ^^^^ ^^^^'^^^^ -^ 

indications of gold hav been frequently found vSi; ^ u I "^'' ''°PP^''' ^^^'^' ''■°" ^"^ ^•"'^' though 
small way are being d.^-loped Immense deno;it.y.fr? I ""^""^"^ ■'" ^"^'^^ ^" °^ ^^^^^^ mountains, and in a 

being mined. In Ree.s Tolty ^aTrLf Z t of 6- -H °'' H^f ' '" f ?''° ^°""'^' ^"'^ ^°"^^ ^^ ^hem are 
Marbles of various col™ are known ?oabS"dT™? f ft, ^^^ "^ ^^''^^ ^''^^* quantities are exported, 

and petroleum have bee found in Reeves aid Pecos^C^^^^^^^^ '"''^''' '"^ indications of coal, asphalt 

Rio G:^"^e";^SS:''^h C^^S:Sa cS'nin'^' "t" ^" ^^"'"^'^ ^° ^'^^ inunediate valleys of the 
where the same can b. .ppl'ied Jor i^on 'cL^pSd with °"'^ '''^' sprnigs and other sources of water supply, 
the general area of the ountry, the acreage devoted to farming 
by irngatjon is limited., ut the results obtained are marvelous 
as to quality and quantv of yield. The finest and most pro- 
ductive orchards in th Southwest are found in this part of 
Texas and New Mexico, nd the export of fine table fruits and 
commercial truck has pown into a business of great magni 
tude. The sugar beet ,elds exceptionally well a! to quaift" v 
per acre, and the content.f sugar is said to be higher here than 
anywhere else in the Pnited States. All the staple crops 
common to the countrjare also produced by irrigation and 
generally a better qualit and a larger yield is secured This 
mountain region ,s a f.orite resort for people suffering from 
pulmonary troubles, the cv atmosphere and almost tota absence 
of other diseases being hihly beneficial. dosence 




CELERY F.IRM, PECOS VALLEY. 



17 




Where -m Look fo^ ^ Home m Tex^s. 

'"^^^^^VS^^^S::^^'^^^^'^^^-'^^^'^ -,,» „, .he S.,,e i„ which 

useless ,xpe„dh;re'™„°;a'„"<r„S"e;°' " ""^'^ °' '•"''■ "" "'" <•'""■ '» "«= "-. 

1 A ^f^^^J^ ^° "^'^^^ "^ ^^^^' ^° '^'^'■'^'i '" resources, possessine as it does 
lands adapted to all possible uses, great forests of m;rketab e "fmber alrnost 
endless pra.nes, covered with nutritious grasses ; level, rolling and broken areas ^4. 

lands nch and erfle, like the prairies of Illinois; o hers fit for pa° u! age ' ''^^ 

stre'ams otLrstir''".' ^ '"^ ^'^""'^^"^ ^^'"^^" -^ numerourr'^if 

streams others and in character; mountains 6,000 to 7,000 feet above sea'- 

level. full of minerals; low, semi-tropical lands, produc ng sugar cane 

mL ^^"V^^P'^^l ^'•"its; others with the climate of Southern • 

Missouri producmg small grain, corn and cotton; other lands 

adapted o the raising of live stock ; some tillable by i rigation on"y ■ 

part in latitude 36°, part in latitude 26°, onomy, 

700 miles further south ; part of the country 

a few feet above sea -level, part 6,000 feet 

higher; m one part the red, ferruginous 

soils, common to Eastern Missouri, in other 

parts the deep, black loams of Illinois, Iowa 

and Nebraska; again, in other parts, the 

heavy, black, waxy soils peculiar to Texas ■ 

portions of the State densely populated' 





RESIDENCKS IN 

. TEXAS. 



GREENVILLE. 



RES S F. YOAKUM 




GROUP OF TEXAS RESIDENCES FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF THE STATE. 



that no earnest seeker after a location can fail to find a foothold 



if he 




others with settlements few and far between 
makes an intelligent search for it 

pects of ultimate success to those who establish themselves, than 
--- ^/'^ ^^ ^ound in any other locality on the con- 

tinent. To the manufacturer no better field is 
^ open. There is a demand, and the necessary 

^. raw material for furniture factories, wagon 
lactone-,, cooperage and wooden ware generally ; 

for leather, saddlery and shoes ; for 
iron works; for cotton and woolen 
factories; for dried and evaporated 
fruits, preserves, pickles; for cream- 
eries, cheese factories, condensed 
milk factories; for fruit and vegetable 
canneries; for meat packeries and for 
hundreds of other enterprises. 

The farmer, stockman and wool 
grower can find soils, pasturage and 
water to his liking, and can have prairie 




RESIDENCES 
IN WACO, TEXAS 



BLc/iZING OUT THE WcAY. 



(communicated.) 



The men came on surveying 

And reached the Texas line, 
Where summer breezes swept the plains 

With music half divine. 

And there the people said to them, 

"We know not why, nor how. 
But this we know, these valleys rich, 

Will never do to plow." 

And thus the people argued, 

In manner weinl and strange, 
About these fertile valleys, fit 

For naught but cattle range. 

That they were good for grazing 

Was plainly to be seen, 
If you would take for evidence 

The grasses soft and green. 

Where many thousand cattle fed, 

Contented on the plains. 
Where "Madame Rumor" had it, that 

"It never, never rains!" 

And thus the railroad men replied, 

"A desert, do you say?" 
But while they spoke, they onward marched, 

Still blazing out the way. 

"We're fond of deserts, such as this 

That now before us lies. 
With singing birds and rippling streams, 

And cloudless summer skies. 

"And here we think we can explain, 

Can tell the ' why and how,' 
Just now the cattle man is king. 

And fears the farmers' plow. 



"So he sends forth these rumors wild. 

About the fearful drouth. 
That he in quiet may remain 

King of this Sunny South." 

And as they onward pushed their work. 

The people all would saj-. 
That money put in railroads here 

Was simply thrown away. 

But still these men pushed forward 

Across this sunny land. 
And built the grand old T. and P. 

Out to the Rio Grande. 

Then farmers came upon the scene 

And settled down to stay. 
And grew vast crops of cotton, corn. 

And wheat, and oats, and hay. 

Then towns sprang up along the line 

And into cities grew, 
And everything was "push" and vim 

Within this country new. 

And much from forest and from mine 

Was added to our wealth. 
And invalids from Northern climes 

Were soon restored to health. 

Then other roads looked on and saw 

The products of the State, 
And said, "we, too, will enter now, 

Before it is too late." 

And thus they came upon the scene, 
Plunged forth into the fray, 

But still the grand old T. and P. 

Is blazing out the way. J. P. 



22 



T"irb?Tscr?af?oTenatg Jear "^^ t^^'::^ZyT^Tjt\'^X' 1^^'"' t^ 'l^^"^ prairie lands is very n^arlced. and 
westerly along the Sulphur Fork of Red Riv^fto the east^corner of nek^ ^°''°,1'' °!u^^^ ^'^'^' t*^^"*^^ ™""'"S 

counties southwest to about ?he center of thenorth line^f Va^^ S[ C^^^nt! t'hSso^ tLtlh^-ffle'r^n^^ol^*^^^^^^^^^^ 



HARVEST SCENE IN NORTHERN TEXAS. 



f/ihe G™ CoLlTd^^rendrea^stwI'd'!:,' 1^*1^ '"'^ ""'' °^ '^'^■^^^^•^ """^^^ '^^^*' -''-^ -'-'^^ southward to within 30 miles 

Within 40 miLsof the tLas >rp.P,-fi. 1^ -1 ^'^f"' ^^^'^ >t.unites with the great timber region of Louisiana. 

Harrison, Gre^Xshur wjod an^Van Zandt'^^^^^^^^ ^'''^ timber, and of these, Bowie, Cass, Marion, 

region, they \T^e many features fn common A S^n^rlf / '."versed by he Railway. Together with the other counties in the same 
6 , y e many :eatures in common. A general description of their salient features is applicable to all of them, and will save 




FARM SCENE IX BOWIE COUNTY. 



much tedious repetition. The general 
surface of these counties is undulating, 
level in some places and hilly in others. 
The soils generally are ferruginous clays 
on the uplands, gray sandy loams on 
level areas, with dark loams, sometimes 
stiff black soils on the lower creek and 
river bottoms. The country is excep- 
tionally well watered, having an annual 
rainfall of 40 to 45 inches, well distrib- 
uted. Springs of large capacity are 
very numerous, and pure freestone water 
is obtained in wells of ver}' moderate 
depth in all the counties. In Harrison and several other counties artesian wells are numerous. The flowing waters of the timber 
regions are the Sabine, Trinity, Neches, Sulphur Fork and Angelina Rivers, all of which are occasionally navigable for small steam 
craft. Their tributaries are very numerous, and usually carry water all year round. Many of them afford good water power 
for manufacturing purposes. 

Originally fully eight-tenths of the whole area was covered with dense forests of exceptionally large and valuable timber. 
Much of it still remains, though the lumber industry in this section has assumed very large proportions. The prevailing trees are long 
and short leaf pine; but post oak, cypress, white, red and black oak, hackberry, slippery and red elm, hickory, black and sweet gum, 
magnolia, sugar and swamp maple, and other deciduous trees are common to tlie whole region. Some forty miles south of the Texas 
& Pacific Railway are immense forests of long leaf pine, which, though they have been penetrated by several railways, still yield 
large quantities of lumber. 

The prevailing rock is a variety of sand stone, available for foundations to buildings, but is rarely uniform in color, nor is it found 
in any large quantity. More or less 
iron ore is found in all the counties, 
but is very abundant in Cass, Harri- 
son, Marion, Bowie, Rusk, Upshur, 
Titus, Morris, Camp and Smith Coun- 
ties. Careful estimates made from 
actual surveys show an ore bearing 
area of nearly 1,000 .square miles. 
Iron furnaces have been erected at 
Rusk, Jefferson, New Birminghnm, 
all convenient to an abundance of 
timber for charcoal. Beds of lignite 
have been found in many places, and 
at a later day will be put to practical 
use. Under ordinary conditions the 




FARM SCENE IN CASS COLNTV. 



crops grown in the timber country average 300 to 400 pounds of ginned cotton to the acre, 20 bushels of corn, 10 to 12 bushels of 
wheat, 30 to 50 of oats, 15 to 20 of rye, 250 gallons of molasses, 150 gallons of sorghum syrup, and from 150 to 250 bushels of sweet 
potatoes. Fruits are grown extensively, and peache?, pears, plums and grapes are produced in such quantity a-; to maintain a number 
of canning factories. A large and profitable business in the export of early strawberries, blackberries, early fruits and vegetables to 
Northern markets, has grown up within the past decade, and is steadily growing in magnitude. 




A NEW HOME IN THE TIMBER. 



The natural pasturage, while neither ample nor as good as that in other sections of the State, is still sufficient to reduce the cost 
of raising live stock, as compared with stock-raising in the Northern States. Bermuda grass is much grown for pasturage, and is much 
esteemed. A wild- Japan clover has been gradually spreading over the country, and where it grows thickly, it forms a very valuable 
forage. The cattle raised are principally the ordinary farm dairy stock, comparatively few being raised especially for the butchers 
block, except to supply the local demand for beef. Hogs are raised in great numbers, and at very small cost, as the mast in the forests 
affords an abundance of cheap and fattening food. Before going into a more detailed description of the several counties mentioned 
above, it might be of interest to the reader to know when he could to best advantage remove to Texas. 



25 




APPLE ORCHARD. NORTHERN TEXAS. 



So far as considerations of health are concerned, a Northern farmer could go 

at any time of the year, without assuming any risks. All of east Texas is healthy 

country, having but few local causes for disease. While it is an exceptionally well- 
watered country, it also has excellent natural drainage, being hilly rather than smooth. 

Its general altitude is from 400 to 600 feet above sea-level. It is well sheltered from 

the cold north winds, and the temperature seldom gets as low as zero in wmter. 

The summer temperature, in July, sometimes reaches 100° in the shade, but owing 

to the Gulf breezes, that set in after sunset, the nights are generally cool enough 

to afford refreshing sleep. Those living on the river and creek bottoms, on new land, 

sometimes have mild attacks of fever and ague, but these yield readily to treatment. 
The month of October is considered the best time to go to Eastern Texas, but 

any time, from the first of September to the first of March, will do for the 

emigrant. Going at such a season, the emigrant will have time to look about and 

locate himself advantageously, to buy or rent land, and in case of purchase, to 

clear and fence his land, build his house, break his land, and be in readiness to 

plant in time to make a crop. Arrangements for renting land are usually made in 

December, and renters generally take possession of their land by or before 

Christmas; but lands can often be rented as late as April. 

Eiiiii^raiits from the Northern States should vot forget that they are going 

South, and that the climate and the seasons for so-wing and harvesting are much 

earlier than they have been accustomed to, and that there/ore they should start as early as possible after October 1st. 

The timber region of Eastern Texas has its advantages, as well as its drawbacks. Undoubtedly, the prairie country is the more 

beautiful and attractive, but the tiniljer region has the more equable climate, the more abundant and better distributed rainfall, and the 

milder winter. Lumber and fencing material, a very important consideration in the prairie region, are very cheap here, and if cash is 

scarce, can be gotten by the new settler by a liberal use of his axe, on his own ground. While clearing his land for cultivation, he 

obtains not only material for his house and other buildings, but he cuts the timber out of which he splits his rails and fences his land. 

In addition to this, he has a permanent 
supply of fuel, and if near a railroad, can 
also find a market for wood and ties. This 
wood standing on the farm, if properly 
handled and utilized, should be worth to 
the new settler, in houses, fences, out- 
buildings, fuel and sales, from $300 to $500, 
all of which he would have to expend for 
similar structures in a prairie country. 
Lands are very cheap in the timber region, 
and the man with limited means, but plenty 
of energy and thrift, as well as good judg- 
ment, will hardly fail in making a new home. 

26 




THRESHING WHEAT IN TEXAS. 



gOWIE COUNTY, TEXAS. The area of this county is 915 square miles, or 585,600 acres. Of this, about 50,000 acres are in 
cultivation, though about 75 per cent of the surface of the county is good for farming, when denuded of its timber. The remainder 
affords fairly good pasturage about 8 months in the year. The annual crops produced amount to about 7,000 bales of cotton, 300,000 
bushels of corn, 20,000 bushels of oats, 35,000 bushels of sweet potatoes, 1,000 tons of hay, and other crops in quantity sufficient to 
produce a value of $500,000. About 1,500 acres are devoted to the cultivation of vegetables and fruits, the value of Vvhich is estimated 
at about $25,000. The soils, in character and quality, and the yield per acre, are about the same as in the other woodland counties. 
Fruits of all descriptions find here a congenial climate, and are rarely injured by late frosts. In some localities, where there is much 
iron in the soil, the flowers are rich in color and the fruits have a fine, delicate, rich 6avor, not found in fruits growing on other soils. 

The average temperature of the county, in summer, is 86°, and in winter, 40°. Public health, as a rule, is good. Malarial 
attacks, of a mild and easily controlled type, occur in a few localities. Red River and the Sulphur Fork of the same stream, with their 
numerous tributaries, perform the drainage of the county, and are fed by numerous springs. Water for the farm and household uses 
is obtained from springs and from wells, which can be had almost anywhere in the county, at a depth of 20 to 30 feet. 

Mineral waters of unquestioned value in the cure of dyspepsia, rheumatism, kidney troubles, and other ailments, are found at 
Dalby Springs, Ingersoll Springs, Chalybeate and Red Springs, all of which are noted local health resorts. 

Avery large lumber industry is carried on, there being some 25 or more saw-mills, some 10 shingle mills, fruit box factories and 
furniture factories in the county. Most of the railways of the arid regions, in New Mexico, Arizona and old Mexico, obtain their 
heavy lumber and railway ties from this locality. A great export of oak ties, for Northern railways, is also carried on. The manu- 
facture of lumber forms the most important industry in the county. 

The assessed values of the county, for 1897, are given at |4, 177,910, of which $936,930 is charged to railway property, $221,481 to 
live stock, and the remainder to other property belonging to individuals. The population, in 1890, was 20,267. Presuming an 

increase similar to that of the preceding decade to have taken place, the county ought to have now 

^_,5«j^^B^^^^^^__^ about 30,000 inhabitants. The average taxable value of land in the county is $2.49 per acre, and 

.-^trr ^" ~ the rate of county taxation, 60 cents for each flOO valuation. On the 1,366 farms in the county, 

,'% there were, in 1897, 3,875 horses and mules, 6,297 head of cattle, 21 jacks and jennets, 1,271 head 

" of sheep, 338 head of goats, and 6,637 head of hogs. 

Df ^ ^ ¥f f«r ¥f 




SCENE I.N BOWIE COUNTV- 



"PHE CITY OF TEXARKANA. This is the most important town in the county, forming the Eastern 
gateway into the State. It is situated in both Texas and Arkansas, and is a wide-awake incor- 
porated dual city of 14,000 inhabitants, being governed by two separate municipal organizations. The 
population is about evenly divided between the two parts of the city. Texarkana is the Southern 
terminus of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, and the Eastern terminus of the 
Texas & Pacific Railway, both of the main line, and of its Trans-Continental Division. It is also 
the point of entry into Texas of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and the Kansas City, 
Pittsburg & Gulf Railway. It is a well-built little city, with all modern 
conveniences common to much larger and older communities. Among 
its institutions are a large and attractive Lhiion Depot, a water-works 
system, an electric light plant, telephone lines, gas works, some 5 miles 





UNiON STATION, TEXAKhLAN A. 





RESIDENCES 
IN TEXARKANA. 



of street car lines, 4 daily and weekly newspapers, an ice factory, a cotton compress and cotton seed oil mill of large 
capacity. There are 2 fire companies and an electric alarm system, as well as an extensive system of underground 
sewers. The several railways also have their shops and roundhouses here, and employ a large number of men. Each 
part of the city has a handsome 2-story brick school building. The hotel accommodations are good. All lines of 
business are well represented, but the predominant interest is the manufacture of lumber, shingles, furniture, and other 
goods made from wood. Potters' clay is abundant within the city limits, and a large pottery situated there does a 
good business. 

New Boston, 22 miles west of Texa'rkana, is the county seat. De Kalb, a trading point, 12 
miles west of New Boston, exports about 7,000 bales of cotton annually, and does a large business in 
railroad ties. It has about 700 inhabitants. Dalby Springs and Red Water are well-known local 
health resorts, easily reached by stage lines and having hotel accommodations for visitors. 



Cass county, TEXAS. This county has much in common with its northern neighbor, the 
county of Bowie, from which it is separated by the Sulphur Fork of Red River. The general 
surface is undulating, but quite hilly in a few places. About three-fourths of the area, 951 square 
miles, is covered with short-leaf pine and other timber common to this region. It is well drained by 
numerous streams, which carry water all the year round. Good freestone water, for household use, 
can be had in wells anywhere in the county, and large springs are numerous. The annual rainfall is 
about 45 inches, and well distributed. 

The county was created in 1846, and was formerly part of Bowie County, and its 
population, in 1890, was 22,554. Nearly the whole population is interested in agricultural 
pursuits, or in the manufacture of lumber. The Texas & Pacific Railway, the St. Louis South- 
western Railway, and the Sherman, Shreveport & Southern Railway, traverse the 
county and afford ample railway facilities. The assessed values of 
taxable property, in IS97, amounted to 12,014,770, of which f957,- 
3S4 was assessed against lands, $143,880 against town property, 
1207,073 against live stock, and J240,465 against railways. The 
county maintains 84 school buildings and employs 209 teachers, 
the school population being 4,685. Improved lands sell at prices 
ranging from |5 per acre up to $20 per acre, according to the 
location and improvements made thereon. 

The soils respond readily to cultivation. The annual crop 
in the county is valued at about $600,000, and is grown on 1,862 
farms, comprising 73,421 acres. Some 10,000 bales of cotton and 

300,000 bushels of corn form the greater part of the yield. The ^■_ , J» |' " "" ^^^H 2 

orchard and garden products yield annually a money value of 
about $65,000, soils and climate being admirably adapted to the 




29 



City Hall, 
3. Court House. 
4. Post Office. 
5. Public S 



cultivation of fruits and commercial truck. The live stock interest is not so extensive as in other counties. Cattle and sheep need 
some feeding during the winter months, and cotton seed is generally used. Hogs do moderately well on the mast in the forests, and 
are fed only to keep them gentle. The live stock of the county, in 1897, consisted of 5,691 horses and mules, valued at $144,850; 8,567 
head of cattle, valued at |47,578; 25 jacks and jennets, valued at 11,840; 1,129 sheep, valued at $1,082, and 11,187 hogs, valued at $11,723. 
There are, in the county, quite a number of towns, none of them large, but each transacting business of considerable volume. 
They are: Linden, county seat, 500 inhabitants; Queen City, 700; Cusseta, 200; Kildare, 400; Douglasville, 400; Atlanta, 2,000; 
Avinger, 200; Bryan's Mills, 150; Bivens, 350; Woodworthy Mill, 300, and Hughes' Spring, a well-known summen resort, noted for 
the curative powers of its waters, in cases of general debility, malarial and typhoid fevers, with 400 inhabitants. Local sportsmen find 
more or less game, such as deer, turkey and quail, in the forests, and during the winter months, ducks and geese are found in great 

numbers along the streams. Perch, catfish, 
bass and buffalo afford good fishing in most 
of the streams. 

W W Mf MT W W 

JVIARION COUNTY, TEXAS. This county 
has about 15,000 inhabitants, of whom 
about 5,000 are residents of the city of Jef- 
ferson, the county seat. The county was 
created from Harrison Count)', in 1860, and 
has an area of 418 square miles. It lies on 
the Louisiana State line, between Morris 
and Cass Counties, and Harrison County. 
Jefferson is at the head of navigation, on 
Big Cypress Bayou, a confluent of Red 
River, and before the days of extensive 
raihvav construction, was one of the most 
important inland shipping points in Texas. 
At the present time, it is a good commercial 
point, and has all modern conveniences for 
good living and the transaction of business. 
The more important local institutions con- 
sist of a large cotton compress, iron works, 
a flour mill, a foundry, an ice factory, 
several very extensive saw-mills, gas works, 
fire department, a federal court house, 7 
churches, good hotels, high grade schools, 
and a number of wholesale commercial 
PLOWING IN JANUARY, MARION COUNTY. houses. Lumbcr, wooleu goods, iron, 




30 





cotton and hides, form the principal articles of export. The principal industry in the 
county is the manufacture of lumber, there being 10 saw-mills and 2 shingle mills 
in thecounty. At Kelleyville is an iron furnace, using the native ore, which has turned 
out pig iron, plows, stoves Snd hollow-ware for many years. Kelleyville has about 400 
inhabitants. Lasater and Lodi are trading points in the county, having about 250 
inhabitants each. 

Thecounty is very well watered, having several large lakes and numerous running 
streams, a few of which are navigable. Good water is obtainable anywhere, in wells, 
and the annual rainfall is about 48 inches. Nearly the whole surface of the county is 
arable and could be cultivated with reasonable profit, but much of the land is chiefly 

valuable for its timber. The surface is gently undulating, being 

broken in a few places by steep hills. The soils, climate, timber 

and j'ield of product per acre are about the same as in the 

adjoining counties. The general annual yield of crops is valued 

at about 1250,000, to which should be added $30,000 for fruits and commercial truck, 

which yield abundantly-. 

Stock raising is carried on as part of ordinary agricultural operations. The 
native pasturage is scant, as compared with other counties, but large areas 
are planted in Bermuda grass, which affords excellent pasturage. Good 
winter range is obtained from the thickets of switch cane, growing in some 
of the lowlands. The live stock rendered for taxation, in 1897, amounted 
to 2,030 head of horses and mules, value, 146,231; 3,135 head of cattle, 
value, $28,522; 3,286 head of hogs, value, |3, 609; miscellaneous, value, |339; 
total, $78,701. There are about 500 farms in the countv, comprising about 
25,000 acres. 

The Texas & Pacific Railway, and the Sherman, Shreveport & 
Southern Railway, traverse the county and have a mileage of 29-iVo miles. 
The school population numbers 4,037, for whose education 57 school houses 
and 80 teachers are maintained. Improved lands sell at f5 to f 10 per acre; 
unimproved lands can generally be had at |2 to $5 per acre. The assessed 
values of all property in the county, in 1897, amounted to |1, 258, 431, of 
which 1548,402 was assessed against lands and town property, $78,701 against 
live stock, and $196,330 against railroads. 

Bangus Springs is a noted local health resort, the waters being credited 
with virtues of great value. 



Views in Jefferson. 



1. U. S. Government Building. 

2. Sheep Raising. 

3. Residence B. F. Shevell. 



4. 
5, 
6. 
7. Lumber Mills. 



Iron Works. 
Residence M. C. Sluter. 
Near Jefferson. 



HARRISON COUNTY, TEXAS. This is one of the oldest counties in northeast Texas. It was created from 
Shelby County in 1S39, and has an area of 899 square miles. It is situated on the Louisiana State line, south 
of Marion Count)'. The surface generally is high rolling country, traversed by numerous running streams, and 
where not in cultivation, is covered with heavy timber common to this part of the State. There are about 
1,700 farms in the county, vielding annually a value of |850,000, consisting of about 15,000 bales of cotton 
372,000 bushels of corn, 7,000 bushels of oats, 80,000 bushels of sweet potatoes, 10,000 bushels of peas 
and beans, 400 barrels of sugar, 850 barrels of sorghum molasses, 8,000 tons of cotton seed, and 2,500 
bushels of peanuts. Rice grows well, but little of it is planted. About 2,000 acres are devoted to the 
cultivation of fruits and vegetables and yield annually a money return of about $40,000. As in all the * 
counties of this region, vegetables and fruits grow in profusion. They are grown in con- 
antities for export and some lines of vegetables are produced twice the same 
potatoes are ready for market about April 20th, sweet corn by June 20th, and » 
watermelons about the first of Jul)-. Wheat usually matures about the < 
first of May. 

The population in 1890 was 26,721 and has greatly increased since 

then. The school census gives 7,487 children of scholastic age, for whose 

education 107 school houses are maintained and 119 teachers are employed. 

The taxable values for 1897 amounted to $4,051,255, of which $2,741,565 were assessed against rail- 

^ways, $2,320,820 against lands and town property, and $274,427 against live stock. There are 

77.57 miles of railway in the county, the same belonging to the Texas & Pacific, the 

Texas & Sabine Valley, and the Marshall, Paris & Northwestern Railways. The live stock 

of the county consists of 6,835 head of horses and mules, 13,199 head of cattle, 878 head o 

and goats, and 7,882 hogs, which are kept on the farms. Improved lands can generally be 

prices ranging from $5 to $25 per acre; unimproved lands varying from $3 to $10 per acre. 

water is obtainable everywhere, and iron ore of superior quality is very abundant. 






f sheep 

had at 

Good 



»r »r *■ »r «r «r 

"PHE CITY OF MARSHALL. This city lies 74 miles southwest of Texarkanaand 40 miles west of 

Views in Marshall. Shreveport, La. It is a very attractive, growing little city of 8,000 inhabitants, and a pleasant 

winter resort. It has all the conveniences common to much larger places, and among its institu- 

2. Res. Bishop's College, tions are an electric light plant, a good system of water works, a well equipped fire department, 

3. Bishops College. a handsome new court house, an opera house, telephone service, two national banks, a cotton gin 
factory, the general shops and roundhouses of the Texas & Pacific Railway, several saw and 
planing mills, a car wheel foundry working the native iron ore, and an ice factory. There are 
several very good hotels and two daily and two weekly newspapers. The residence portion 

32 



o?^^t'°.lf fc^I.^i^'f 'i''^ buildings, and the various congregations have handsome places of worship. The public school system 
of the city is conducted according to modern methods, and as maintained, is creditable to auv citv. ^ 




The New Orleans Branch of 
the Texas & Pacific Railway, joins 
the main line at Marshall, afford- 
ing quick and easy transportation 
to the Gulf and the Southeast. 

Mineral springs are numerous 
in the county, the most noted 
being Rosborough Springs, 8 miles 
south of Marshall, Hynson 
Springs, 6 miles west, and Mont- 
vale Springs, 12 miles northwest. 
All of them are recommended for 
the treatment of dyspepsia, liver 
and kidney troubles. 



FARM SCENE NEAR MARSHALL. 




J yPSHUR COUNTY. TEXAS. The area of this county 

^i is 519 square miles, and the population numbers 

yl about 15,000. The assessed valuations in 1S97 amounted 
to 11,689,542, of which )PS92,235 were chargeable 
to real estate, $383,870 to railways, and jfl77,737 
to live stock. The county was created in 1845 
•^■5*^/ i|, and named in honor of Abel P. 

Upshur, Secretary of State under 
President Tyler in 1843. It is the 
third county west of the Louisiana 
State line, on the Texas & Pacific 
Railway, and the fourth countv south 
of Red River. The St. Louis South- 
western Railway crosses it from north 
to south, and the Texas & Pacific 
Railwa}' from east to west. The 
Sabine River forms the southern 
boundary. 

The principal occupations of the 

inhabitants are farming and the 

manufacture of lumber. The 

farms, of which there are about 

1,200, are small, as is usual in a 

wooded country. About 50,000 

acres are in cultivation, producing annually from 7,000 to 8,000 bales of 

cotton, 300,000 to 400,000 bushels of corn, 'about 30,000 bushels of rye, 

oats and wheat, 30,000 bushels of sweet potatoes, 1,000 bushels of Irish 

potatoes, 1,000 bushels of peas and beans, 500 barrels of sugar, and about 4,000 tons of cotton 

seed. The money value of the crop, including orchards and gardens, will approximate 

annually, |550,000'. 

Much of the timber in the county is very large and valuable, and lumber, railroad-ties, 
shingles, etc., are exported in large quantity. The short leaf pine (pinus mitis) is still very 
abundant, and the timber, still standing, will supply the local mills for a number of years to come. 
The general climatic conditions, soil, etc., are very similar to those of the adjoining counties, 
and the yield, per acre, is about the same. The native grasses are neither abundant in variety or 
quantity, and the countv is not adapted to stock raising on a large scale. The live stock in 1897, 
consisted of 3,004 horses and mules, valued at $115,645; 8,527 head of cattle, valued at #47,078; 
47 jacks and jennets, valued at $2,890; 2,298 head of sheep and goats, valued at $1,293; and 10,511 
hogs, valued at $10,821. Iron ore is abundant, and of superior quality. 

34 




Qilmer, the County Seat, a station on the St. Louis Southwestern, has about 1,500 
inhabitants. It has some 17 mercantile establishments, a private bank and 5 saw mills, the 
largest of which ships about 1,000 car loads of lumber per annum. 

Big Sandy, in the southern part of the county, is the crossing 
point of the Texas & Pacific and the St. Louis Southwestern Rail- 
ways. It has about 350 inhabitants. 

Phillip's Spring, situated about 8 miles north of Gilmer, is 
chalybeate in character, and is much visited by seekers after health. 

sr *■ »r *• HT »r 

QREQQ COUNTY, TEXAS. Gregg County has about 10,000 inhabi- 
tants, of whom 4,000 are residents of Longview, the County Seat, 
and 500 at Kilgore, an important trading point. It was formed in 1873, 
and has an area of 279 square miles. About one-half the area is cleared, 
the remainder being covered with dense forests; the soil, climate, 
products per acre being about the same as in the neighboring woodland 
counties. The farm values produced annually amount to about 
1350,000, and ordinarily consist of 14,000 acres in cotton, 13,500 acres 
in corn, the two crops being worth about $250,000; 5,000 acres, more 
or less, are devoted to the cultivation of small grain, sweet and Irish 
potatoes, beans, peas, hay, sugar cane and sorghum. Some 1,600 
acres are planted in fruits and vegetables, yielding a revenue of 
$57,000. 

The County is well watered, having numerous running streams; 
fine springs exist in many localities, and good water is obtainable any- 
where in wells. Improved lands bring from $5 to $12 per acre, there 
being about 750 farms in the county. Outside of agricultural pursuits, 
lumbering is the principal business of the people. Transportation 
facilities are very good. The Texas & Pacific Railway traverses the county 
from east to west; the International and Great Northern Railway has its northern 
terminus at Longview, from which point it extends south and southwest to 
Galveston and Laredo. The Texas and Sabine Valley Railway also has its terminus 
at Longview. The railway mileage in the county is 21-iVo miles, valued at $154,205. 
The taxable valuations for 1897 are reported at $1,"569,980, of which $974,780 is assessed 
against real estate; and $111,585 against live stock, the latter consisting of 2,412 head 
of horses and mules; 5,050 head of cattle; 500 head of sheep and goats, and 4,930 head 
of hogs. 

35 



COURT HOUSE, LONGVIEW. 



Longview, the county seat, is a bustling town of 4,000 people, and an active manufacturing point. Among the local industries are 
a plow factory, a saw-mill, ice factory, bottling works, broom factory, mattress factory, electric light plant, a cotton compress, an oil 
mill, a foundry and machine shop, and the railway shops. The court house is a commodius and substantial structure. There are 

eight schools in the town, and a similar 
number of places of worship. 

Kilgore, the next important town in 
the county, has 500 inhabitants, 5 church 
buildings, and several good schools. 

Capp's Mineral Well, at Longview, 
has been highly recommended as a cure for 
dropsy, Bright's disease, dyspepsia, bilious- 
ness, rheumatism and kindred diseases. A 
qualitative analysis, made by Professor 
Richard, of the U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, shows it to be a sulphur water, 
containing sulphate of iron, potash, sulphate 
of soda, salts, and chlorides of lime and 
magnesia. 

*■ »r »r »r >r »«r 

\YOOD COUNTY, TEXAS. This is the 
most westerly of the counties along 
the line of the Texas & Pacific Railway, 
having extensive forests of pine timber. 
All of the county is heavily wooded, but the 
eastern half contains the great pineries, 
from which the supplies for the large 
number of saw-mills are drawn. In the 
western half, the forests partake more of 
the characteristics of the timber of the 
black land counties, further west. The 
general surface is more level than in the 
other woodland counties, though there is 
little material variation as to soils, climate, 
temperature, rainfall or yield of crops per 
acre. A larger part of the area, which com- 
prises 702 square miles, can, however, be 
profitably cultivated. There are about 50,000 

36 

COTTON, CORN. OATS, NEAR LONGVIEW. 




acres, in 1,400 farms, under cul- 
tivation, producing annuallj' a 
value of about $600,000. The har- 
vest generally consists of 10,000 
to 11,000 bales of cotton, 400,000 
bushels of corn, 50,000 bushels of 
oats, 30,000 bushels of sweet po- 
tatoes, 35,000 to 40,000 gallons of 
molasses, 6,000 tons of cotton seed, 
and orchard and garden products 
to the value of |35,000 to $40,000. 
As in all of the woodland counties, 
the raising of live stock is part of 
ordinary farming operations. The 
live stock in the county, in 1897, 
was valued at $220,301, and con- 
sisted of 5,744 horses and mules, 
9,607 head of cattle, 1,211 head of 
sheep and goats, and 12,465 head 
of hogs. 

The county was organized 

in 1850, and has 14,000 inhabitants, of whom 3,000 are residents of Mineola, the junction of the Texas & Pacific Railway, the 
International & Great Northern Railway, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway; 500 of Quitman, the county seat; 400 of 
Winnsboro, and 250 of Hawkins, smaller trading points in the county. The assessed values of taxable property, in 1897, amounted to 
$2,695,113, of which $1,619,538 was assessed against real estate, and $499,465 against railways, which have 49-|'*o'u miles of 
tracks in the county. The school census reports 3,870 children of school age, for whose education 61 school houses are maintained, 
and 69 teachers are employed. 

The industrial pursuits run mainly in the manufacture of lumber, railroad ties, shingles, etc., there being about 17 saw-mills at 
work. The other enterprises, principally located at Mineola, consist of 81 mercantile establishments, 1 bank, 1 flour mill, 2 fire brick 
and tile factories, 1 cannery, 1 furniture factory, and the repair shops of the railways. Improved lands range in price from $5 to $25 
per acre; unimproved, $2 to |10 per acre. 




COTTON FIELD SCENE. 



«• »r sT »r sT sr 



VAN ZANDT COUNTY, TEXAS. This cpunty is on the western edge of the great forest region of Eastern Texas, and partakes of 

some of its characteristics. About two-thirds of the surface is woodland, with soils and timber common to the country lying east 

of it. Much of the timber is large enough and of such quality as to make it valuable for commercial purposes. The remaining third 

of the county is open prairie, generally large patches of heavy, black hog-wallow land, and black, waxy land, alternating with black, 

37 



sandv loams There is considerable diversity in the soils; light tnellow alluvium being found along the streams, red lands in the 
eastern half of the county and gray, loamv soils along ^^^^^^^^^ NechTs and Trinity Rivers, and most of the creeks carry water all 
The county is well drained by the tributaries of ."''^, ^f^^'f ' fj.'l^^' a iVth of 20 to 40 feet. On some of the prairies, cisterns 
the year round. Good water, for domestic uses - ^^^'--' j ° Vhf p;afrie la?d^, where "lo? i^! cultivation, afiord eiTcellent hay and 
are used ow ng to an excess of lime in tne water or sou. iuc h"?" ti,o orrlinarv vleld of crocs one year with another, 

^asturai. Abolt nine-tenths of the surface of the ^-f ^ ^.f^^VuTelst corn lo to 15 bush^ Is of wheat'^ 40 bus'hels of oats. 35 of 
is one-fourth to two-thirds of a bale of cotton per acre 25 to 30 bushels of ^'^/•^; /"^^^^ ^^,1 ^^^^ 2 to 3 tons of millet hay. 

barley, 90 to 100 of Irish potatoes 200 of sweet Pf ^^^^^''^SOo 300 gallons o sorgnu y V^ ^^^^„ ^^U distributed. 

Vegetables and fruits yield well, both as to qua ity ='"'1^ q"^"*/' .■„/t''„%r°"t^^^^^^^^ 700,000 bushels of corn, 30,000 

About 80.000 acres are in cultivation, the annual harvest ^7\°""'"g\o about 15^^^^^^^ 25 OOO bushels of peas, beans and peanuts, 3.000 
bushels of wheat. 250,000 bushels of oats, 60,000 ^^^^els o Irish and sweet potatoes the who"e crop bJing -alued at about f 1,200. 000. 
Xuf ^^00^6 fc?es^ a7e 'cllt^iS^fiTl^L-atdleget^^^^^^^ ^nd ^ l^motyTvenue^^of ^^00.000. liSprove^d lands sell at |5 to |25 per 

---' ^^X^^s^^'^^ls^^n. W.S nam^ in ^^nor of^lsaac^ri Zand. Minister t^^^ 

Republic. The area is 840 square miles, and in 1890 the county had 16.225 inhab^Uits^ toSwls 743? of which $323,440 was assessed 

^^:rii:elt^.^^^isl^iir::^9;710^o^^^n71;^^r^r3j^'^^^^ ie„ne(s, 1,144 Sheep and goats, and 

''■'^'^Ts Point, a station on the Te^s & -ific RaUway^is t^^est tow.i in tlie cc^nty ^h^ - 

institutions are 3 public schools, 2 banks, Wills Point Institute, 2 hotels, se\eral '^°«°'^^^g^'^j;^^^j^ ^^^jij^j^gs a„a several fine business 

blocks, and transacts a fairly large business in 
cotton, hides, grain, hay, live stock and country 
produce. 

Grand Saline is noted for its extensive 
salt works, the Lone Star Salt Co. and the Texas 
Salt Works both having extensive works at this 
point Their exports amount to 1,000 carloads 
annually. The other towns in the county are 
Canton, countv seat, with 500 inhabitants; 
Edom with 350, and Edgewood, with 200 
inhabitants. Grand Saline and Edgewood are 
stations on the Texas & Pacific Railway. 



LONE ST/VR S.iLT CO., GRAND S.4LINE, TEX.iS. 




38 



T four rich, well developed and well populated counter L^Ui^.l^^ '«' counties of Red River Lamar, Fannin, and Grayson, 
the Texas & Pacific Railway They have some f^^t^r^l ^ * ^r^'^'' '',°'^ traversed by the Transcontinental Branch of 

identical soils and resources, and about ie^a^^crmate anrra„^fTlf''U'^, ^ ^T 'J'" '"'"f «""""^ topography, nearly 

there is absent the gloom of the dense forests The iTodie^nf ,f "^''"- ^^'"l*^ there is an abundance of timber for all practical uses, 
and generally skirt the water courses Stone apDearfto he tlf ' n '^ 'T""' ^ '"™^f^ with prairies of greater or lesser exte.it 
different in the.r characteristics from those^ommon^to the woodlands ^"rh^"'^ T ' ^"'^ V'", '°!"' ^^''^ °^ considerable variety, are 
and offers many local advantages Towns are more nnn7pr^,c 1 i S°"2*"i\''^ ^ ^'^°^^' '^ '""'y attractive to intending settlers 

and the more open character of the country adrnksrSser soc^fl fn^er'^.f"'^ '"?'''* i'"""' '^f "''''''''' '^^'^ '^"'^ '" '^^ woodlands, 
population, the prices are reasonable intercourse. Lands are higher in price, but considering the denser 

ratherT4Vatr;eu''dSu:'red\'^:t Co^^^^^ ^°1 °/, '''^ f?^' ^'-^»' *— - ^1' f°- «f the counties, being 

interfere The wide bottoms of Red River fn/rA^^i <^"°""'^*""S gradually as Grayson County is reached and other drainage systems 
prevailing trees being b ack^ak overcu^ oak wah nf Z, ' ""'^°"°, strip through the four counties, is heavily timbered, the 

is a belt of land, 10 t^o 12 miles wide v^iU°asa^dvsoh^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Tt \^'\^''"'y- 7^>f ^°" ^^ ^ '^^^ deep alluvialf South of' that 

spersed here and there with prairies next is a str^ o f^rTv LnH ' ^J'^l^°'-y.;^-al""t. ash, sycamore, and bois d'arc, and inter- 

on North Sulphur Fork of Red R er' a id comprisi^e Tlout o^ne t Wd InT^' °'" ^ r«\T"f' ^'"'^' ^'"'. *''"" extending to the timber 
and capacity to resist the effects of drouth sCh^ofreLpraie for aXtance "^ "'"•' P^""*^ ''""'' "°'"' '°' '^'^'^ "^^''"'>' 
of about 7 miles, is a body of valuable timber growing on sandy soils ' In this timber 

haU oTReTRirel'r" ° '^l^^^ '"^^■^' ^°''l °^ extraor^linary fer'tility . In the ea^ern 
half of Red River County there are some large stretches of short leaf pine timber. 

n,-.;t / ^l ] '■'""^•''" '■''"^^ ^^^ ^° t° 40 inches, and is very regular in its pre- 
to'^^n ,r- r ^°'''=g°.'"g topographical description will applv, with slight variations 

ritearies The'landst Th ^;?" "^tered by the rivers l^Lmed and th'^eir numerous 
rnlfi, * i^r"A '" the Red River bottoms produce per acre, one year with 

another, from ?, to 1 bale of cotton, and from 40 to 60 bushels of corn For the 
entire region he yield is from h to i.< bale of cotton, 25 to 35 bushels of corn 

o° n olasres"l5b Inonr^f-' ''? °' ^"^^* P'?\^'°^^' ^°° "^ ^^^'^ Potatoes, 250 gallons 
nlr^„ ? 'A P. If °^ sorghum syrup, l'^ to 3 tons of millet, and all vegetables 

cZntov Vhe'annl'e"'''- ''"'w^'' 'P^'^^' P^^^^' ^"'^ P'"'"^ ^^^ grown in grea 
quantity. The apples are equal to any grown in the Southern States Graoes wild 

rSbeTiS and Wa'cfb "''''' "^"f^"^'", ^""^*'^^' ^™^^ luxuriantly 'and s^^aTb'eVr" I' 
[s?e'ry";:^i aXticUol^nfraTfi'^^- ig'^""^^^^' ^^°'^'^'>' ""-tenths of the country 

neariv^aT'of°^them t^lf" f'*'"''^"' "i"'^ *° ™" ''"""^ ^ P°rti°n of the year, but 
nearly all of them hold water m pools in. their beds in the driest seasons and 

a°r™e "'"''? '""'^'' "■'^■■tificial ponds, furnish stock water in ample supply There 
are some springs of pure water, and wells are obtained at a moderate deptl at a most 
any desired point, the water in the timbered uplands usually beiS a pure freestone 




.^ 



and in the black prairie land, more or less impregnated with lime. For drinking water, cisterns are much used. The open range 
is not sufficient, either in area or quality, to carry stock in good condition through the winter, and for about 3 months in the year 
they require more or less feeding. Nearly all the stock raised in this section of the country is of high grade and is worthy of the 
attention bestowed on it. The altitude of the country is from 600 feet to 900 feet above sea-level, and the temperature varies from 100°, 
on extra hot summer days, to zero, in January and February, the so-called cold snaps rarely lasting over 24 hours, and occurring only 
three or four times during the winter. 

»«r »tr HT »r »r ^T 

J^ED RIVER COUNTY. This county was settled as early as 1S16-17, at which time a number of Austin's colonists stopped there a 
season, planted and harvested a crop, and then went further south. In 1836, it had sufficient population to organize. Its present 

area is 1,062 square miles, though 
originally it was much larger, having 
since lost territory by the formation 
of new counties. In 1890, it had 
21,452 inhabitants, and since then the 
population has largely increased. 

About one-third of the county is 
prairie land and about nine-tenths of 
its area is tillable. The timbered 
portion, in the eastern part, contains 
considerable quantities of valuable 
pine, and the 14 or more large saw- 
mills in the county transact a business 
of considerable magnitude. There are 
about 1,600 farms in the county, 
aggregating about 100,000 acres. The 
ordinary result of agricultural opera- 
tions amounts annually to about 
18,000 bales of cotton, 600,000 bushels 
of corn, 60,000 bushels of small grain, 
about 4,000 bushels of peas and beans, 
2,000 tons of hay, 100 barrels of sugar, 
SOO barrels of molasses, and about 
9,000 tons of cotton seed, the whole 
crop valued from $1,000,000 to 
fl, 200, 000. 

The principal variety of grass is 
the sedge, which is common to all 
parts of the county. In the early 



:r.-^: 





■ • oinafi -«?«'aaKj; 




^^lg^ 


H 


1^^ 






m 


^^ 






hI 


%. ... 




-_J 



RED RIVER. NEAR CLAKKbVILLh, 



SCENES IN RED RIVER COUNTY. 




Public School. 
2. Court House. 

3. Clarksville Oil Mill, 
Public Square. 
5. First National Bank. 

6, Cotton Compress 



part of the year, it affords some pasturage, but later becomes too woody to be of any great value. During the winter months, stock 
require the run of the fields and small grain pastures. There are no large herds in the county, as stock raising here is almost universally 
combined with agricultural operations. Of late years, particular attention has been given to the improvement of the grades of stock, 
and good thoroughbred cattle, horses and hogs, can be found on many of the farms. Hogs are raised cheaply, requiring but little 
attention, and considerable numbers are fattened on the mast in the forests. There were rendered for taxation, in 1897, 11,557 head 
of horses and mules, valued at $259,134; 15,002 head of cattle, valued at $107,403; 59 head of jacks and jennets, valued at |3, 420; 1,768 
head of sheep, valued at $1,520; 371 goats, valued at $236, and 18,644 head of hogs, valued at $20,897, the total value being $392,520. 

The Texas & Pacific Railway traverses the county, near its center, from east to west, a distance of 34.22 miles, the principal 
stations being Clarksville, the county seat, population about 2,000; Detroit, population 800; Anona, population 300; Bagwell, popu- 
lation 200. The valuations of taxable property, in 1897, amounted to $4,216,313, of which $2,553,872 were assessed against real estate, 
$374,709 against railways, and $392,520 against live stock. The school population, exclusive of the larger towns, is 6,230, for whose 
education 51 schools are maintained and 128 teachers are employed. The business interests of the county are represented in 3 banks. 



with a ca])ilal of fZdH.IHHl 



SO iiKTcantik- establishments. 




a brick and tile factory, a cannery, 2 broom factories, and a number of 
smaller manufacturing enterprises. 

Clarksville lies in the center of a rich agricultural district, 
transacting a large busine.ss in the export of cotton, hides, small 
grain and live stock. The population is progressive and enjoys 
the modern conveniences within the reach of smaller towns. It 
has a fine public school building, churches of the various denomi- 
nations, a convent, a handsome and commodious court house, 2 
banks, a steam planing mill, a saw-mill, a grist mill, cotton gin, 
and 2 newspapers. 

*■ »r *■ *■ >r Mr 

LAMAR COUNTY, TEXAS. This county was named in honor 
of Mirabeau B. Lamar, one of the presidents of the Republic 
of Texas. It was formed in 1840 from Red River County, and has 
an area of 920 square miles. Its population in 1890 was 37,302, 
and it contains the following named cities, towns and villages: 



*• »r 



»r »r »F 



XHE CITY OF PARIS, the county seat, has about 12,000 inhabi- 
tants, and lies 588 feet above sea-level. It is an important 
shipping point and is a station on the Texas & Pacific Rail- 
way, which crosses the county from east to west. It is also the 
northern terminus of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe and the Texas 
Midland Railways, and the southern terminus of the St. Louis & 
San Francisco Railway. It has many attractive public and private 

42 




buildings, and there are invested in various 
local enterprises about $2,000,000, represented 
partially in 2 large planing mills, a cotton seed 
oil mill, 3 marble works, a candy factory, 2 
ice factories, a gas and electric plant, etc., etc., 
the annual output being estimated at $1,500,- 
000. The commercial transactions aggregate' 
in value about $6,500,000 and consist, to a 
great extent, of the handling of cotton, wool, 
hides, corn, wheat, cotton seed and other 
country produce. The local banking capital 
amounts to $650,000. The city has a very 
perfect system of public schools and several 
The school population numbers 2,696. 

Blossom, on the Texas & Pacific Railway, is a flourishing 
incorporated town of about 800 inhabitants. The other trading 
points are: Brookston, 237 inhabitants; Chicota, 321; Deport, 
274; Roxton, 226; Petty, 206, and Pattonville, with 150 inhabi- 
tants. The commercial interests of the county are represented 
by 225 establishments, and the industrial in 6 saw-mills, 2 
ice factories, 2 candy factories, a broom factory, a furniture 
factory, planing mills, flouring mills, brick yards, canning 
factories, etc. 

The school population, outside of Paris, numbers 8,611, for 
whose education 156 school buildings have been erected and 167 
teachers are employed. The taxable property in the county, for 
1897, was valued at $9,857,082. Of this, $6,668,440 was assessed 
against real estate, $622,767 against live stock, and $640,550 
against railways. 

The lands in the county are most admirably adapted to 
agricultural pursuits, and nearly the whole area is suitable for 
cultivation. One-half or more of the county is enclosed in 
farms, varying in dimensions from 25 acres to 1,000 acres, there being about 2,800 farms, comprising about 
200,000 acres, under actual cultivation. The crop values produced annually amount approximately to $2,500,- 
000, to which must be added $100,000 for orchard, garden and apiary products. 

There is no range stock in the county, all animals being raised on the farms. As a rule, they are of 
the best grades, and, in 1897, numbered 19,063 horses and mules, valued at $461,026; 16,152 head of cattle, 
valued at $121,850; 184 jacks and jennets, valued at $6,900; 556 sheep, valued at $565, and 24,814 head of 
hogs, valued at $32,411. 

43 



Views i.n Pari.s. 

Paris Oil Co. 

2. Federal Building. 

3. Cotton Compress. 
4. Public Square 





f^' 




n 


MkklM 


-■.y2l'-^^ 


M'"^. 





Views in Bonham. 

1. Court House. 

2. Residence. 

3. Cotton Seed Oil Mill, 
4. Street Scene. 



Ztu^Zr.fTj2^mO r '"^? ^".'? sweet potatoes, 4,000 bushels of peas an:lte:n;.MOo"to\:s'o^^y,^"t)f t^'z^OOO ^"arret'^f 

ScSa7;v?lu:d'it1S0U0"::ofe.'°The '"'' "" "'"'' ""^ "°^'' '^"^ ^'''"'^•""•^ ^° ^' ''"''''>'>' ' "-"^d, garden andTpfar" 

native grasses are moderately abundant and 

nutritive. Winter feeding is necessary, to 

carry stock through profitablv. The live 

stock, in 1897, was valued at J655,245, and 

consisted of 20,963 horses and mules, 15,793 

head of cattle, 137 jacks and jennets, and 

25,128 head of hogs. 

The altitude of the county is between 

700 and 800 feet above sea-level, and the 

annual rainfall is about 40 inches. Most of 

the streams carry water all the year round, 

and wells are easily obtained, the water 
being freestone in the timber areas and 
hard in the black, waxy prairies. Improved 
lands range in price from |15 to f40 per 
acre. The county school population of 
8,832, is housed in 151 school buildings, 
and 177 school teachers are employed. The 
assessed value of taxable property, for 1897 
amounted to J9, 617, 780. There are 101^% 
miles pf railway in the county, which are 
assessed at $765,190. It is traversed by the 
Texas & Pacific, Missouri, Kansas & Texas, 
Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, and Denison, 
Bonham & New Orleans Railways, affording 
excellent transportation facilities. 

Bonham, a wide-awake, progressive 
httle city, on the Texas & Pacific Railway, 




is the county seat. It has about 5,000 inhabitants, is substantially built and transacts a large business in grain, flour, cotton and other 
local products. It is surrounded by what is concedeji to be one of the finest agricultural districts in Texas. Among its manufacturing 
enterprises are 2 flour mills, 2 ice factories, 2 cotton seed oil mills and 2 cotton gins. There are 2 graded public schools, the Carleton 
College, the Fannin College, the Masonic Female Institute, 3 banks and 6 newspapers. 

Honey Qrove, also a station on the Texas & Pacific Railway, has 3,000 inhabitants, 7 churches, good schools, 2 banks, a cotton 
seed oil mill, a cotton compress, a flour mill, cotton gins, a stone quarry and 2 weekly newspapers. Its principal exports are cotton, 
grain, live stock, cotton seed oil, hides, wool, etc. 

The other important trading points are Savoy, 400 inhabitants; Leonard, 400; Ladonia, 800; Ravenna, 300; Dodd City, 400; 
Trenton, 300; Valley Creek, 300, and Delta, 450 inhabitants. Mead Springs, near Honey Grove, said to contain iron and other 
minerals, is a noted local health resort. 

»r »r »«r »r »r sir 




^'^ 



QRAYSON COUNTY, TEXAS. This county was named in honor of Peter W. Grayson, the second 
Attorney-General of the Republic of Texas. It is densely settled, was organized in 1846, and in 1890 had 
53,211 inhabitants. Since then, the population has increased at least 40 per cent. It has an area of 968 
square miles and lies from 700 feet to 9U0 feet above sea-level. Its general topographical characteristics are 
essentially the same as in the other counties fronting on Red River, about two-thirds of the surface being 
prairie land, and the remainder covered with timber, not in solid bodies, but alternating with the prairies. 

Fully nine-tenths of the surface is superior 
farming land, the highways presenting a continu- 
ous succession of farms or enclosed pastures, with 
farm houses at short intervals, indicating a large 
agricultural population. Soil, climate and rain- 
fall (about 40 inches) are very favorable to diver- 
sified farming, and the cultivation, in a commer- 
cial way, of fruits and vegetables. Fruits of 
every description common to the United States, 
are grown for the Northern markets in great 
abundance. Wheat is grown extensively and 
reaches the market about the middle of May. 
There is very little open pasturage for stock, 
which is raised exclusively on the farms and 
consists of the most improved breeds. Good 
water is obtainable in all parts of the county, 
that of the uplands being freestone, and that of 
the black prairies more or less impregnated with lime. The number of cultivated farms in 
the county is approximately 4,000, comprising about 250,000 or 275,000 acres. The crop 
obtained annually is about 35,000 bales of cotton, 1,600,000 to 2,000,000 bushels of corn, 
200,000 to 250,000 bushels of wheat, 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 bushels of oats, 80,000 to 90,000 

47 





Views in Sherman. 

Fire Department. 
6. Cotton .Seed Oil Mill. 
7. Milling Section. 

S. Bagging Factory. 



bushels of Irish and sweet potatoes, 10,000 tons 
of hay, 500 barrels of syrup and 20,000 tons of 
cotton seed, the value of which varies, according 
to quantity, time and price, from $2,500,000 to 
$3 000,000. The orchard and garden products 
yield a revenue of $125,000 to $150,000. No 
record has been kept of the doings of the 
feathered folks, or of apiary or dairy products, 
yet beyond question these items would run 
into large sums. In 1897, the live stock was 
rendered for taxation as follows: 26,453 horses 
and mules, valued at $622,576; 21,781 head of 
cattle, valued at $217,211; 1,454 head of sheep 
and goats, valued at $1,525; 257 jacks and 
jennets, valued at $13,275; 27,921 hogs, valued 
at $40,138. . 

The assessed values of all property in the 
county, in 1897, amounted to $17,045,403, of 
which $10,935,383 was assessed against real 
estate, $1,718,765 against railroads, and $894,725 
against live stock. The school population num- 
bers 8,256, and for their education 135 school 
houses are maintained and 161 teachers are 
employed. 

»r »«^ »r *" »r *■ 



THE CITY OF DENISON is a well- 
built and attractive city of 12,000 to 
15,000 inhabitants It is situated 3 miles 
south of Red River and 9 miles north of 
Sherman, the county seat. It occupies 
an ideal site for a city, has excellent 
natural drainage, many miles of broad 
streets and avenues, well kept and lined 
on either side with handsome business 
blocks, churches, schools and private 
residences. The educational facilities 
are of the highest order, the cit>' 



Views in Denison. 

M H. Sherburne. 

4. W. H. Mills. 

5. Oi! Mill. 

6. T. & P. R'y Station 
7. Cotton Mill 




maintaining 6 commodious brick school buildings and a staff of 40 efficient teachers. Among the local establishments are 17 church 
organizations, an opera house, 3 National banks, 3 daily and 5 weekly newspapers, gas works, electric light plant, a fire department, a 
street car system, an ice factor}-, brick yards, cotton gins, flour mills, planing mills, a brewery, a soap factor}-, a fruit cannery, and a 
large cotton cloth mill, employing 700 people. The city is very advantageously situated, in regard to the proximity of supplies of coal, 
iron ore, water, timber, agricultural raw material, etc., necessary for the growth of a large city. The Texas & Pacific Railway, the 
Houston & Texas Central Railway, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Raihvay, furnish excellent transportation facilities. 



w tr 



*■ »r 



'PME CITY OF SHERHAN, the county seat, is situated in a fine agricultural region, near the center of the county. Like its neighbor, 
Denison, it is favored with good railway connections, the Texas & Pacific, the St. Louis Southwestern, the Gulf, Colorado & Santa 
Fe, the Houston & Texas Central, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railways forming a junction here. Population about 10,000; 
the principal exports are cotton, grain, live stock, flour, cotton seed oil, hides, wool, farm produce generally and commercial truck. 
Among the local enterprises are an extensive electric light plant, water works, street car lines, an opera house, 2 banks, a handsome 
court house and many fine blocks of business houses, a cotton seed 
oil mill, 3 patent roller flour mills, cotton gins, an ice factory, 
seamless bag factory, 2 foundries, a cotton compress, the largest 
iron works in North Texas, marble works, brick yards, furni- 
ture factory, planing mills, carriage factory, and soap, broom, 
candy and mattress factories, as well as 2 daily and 3 weeklj- 
newspapers. 

Sherman is a great educational center. Its public school 
system is conducted in accordance with the most approved modern 
methods and is of a high order, but in addition, there are several 
colleges noted for their high standard of excellenc}-. Among those 
more famous are the Carr-Burdette Christian College for girls, 
the Mar}' Nash College, and Sherman Institute, founded in 1877, 
the North Texas Female College, founded in 1877, the Austin 
College and St. Joseph's Academy, the latter a business college. 

Quite a number of small towns are scattered through the 
county. Of these. Bells, population 450; Whitewright, population 
1,000; Howe, population 300; Van ALstyne, population 1,000; 
Collinsville, population 400; Whitcsboro, population 2,000; Gor- 
donville, population 200; Pottsboro, population 350; Pilot Grove, 
population 250, and Cedar Mills, population 200, are the more 
important. 

Improved lands sell in Grayson at prices ranging from $25 
to $50 per acre and are generally in good demand. 

49 





Views in Fort Worth, 
Tarrant Co. 

Fort Worth High School. 
City Hall. 

Tarrant Co. Court House. 
Northern Methodist Church. 
First Baptist Church. 
Dairy Scene near Ft. Worth. 





THE BLACK LAND COUNTIES. The well-to-do farmer of the Northern and Eastern 
States, seeking a change of climate for his health, or a greater diversity of production than 
the land and climate ot the old home will admit of, can do no better than to avail himself of 
the comfort and social advantages peculiar to well populated neighborhoods. By making his new 
home in any of the counties fronting on Red River, or in the Black Land Counties, south thereof, 
he can find all of these. He can find soils to his liking, and can have prairie land or timber land, or 
both; as he may desire. He may cultivate the heavy black lands, or the chocolate colored 
loams, as he may prefer. Here he can purchase improved farms, in a high state of cultivation, 
and, with reasonable certainty, produce the staple crops of the country, grow fruits and 
vegetables with profit, and raise the finer grades of live stock to advantage. Within easy reach 
are good market towns, approachable over fairly good roads. Railway transportation is ample, 
convenient and cheap. The county admits of the use of all modern farming implements; 
schools and churches are already built, and the privations and inconveniences 
of pioneer life are practically dispensed with. Lands, of course, are higher 
in price, than in more thinly settled counties. The old settlers have done 
their share in developing the country. They opened up farms, built roads, 
built school houses, churches, railroads, aided the construction of flour mills, 
cotton gins, cotton seed oil mills, cotton compresses, and hundreds of minor 
enterprises. The new-comer, of course, cannot expect to have the benefit of 
these advantages without paying his pro rata share in the increased land 
values. Improved lands in the several counties vary in price from $15 to $50 
per acre. Under the term "Black Land Counties," it is intended in this 

pamphlet to describe, more particularly, 
the counties traversed by the main line of 
the Texas & Pacific Railway, which lie 
between the Van Zandt County and the 
Brazos River, namely, Kaufman, Dallas, 
Tarrant, Denton, and Parker Counties, 
but the term is applicable to all the 
country between the woodland counties 
of eastern Texas, and the Brazos River, 
from the Red River counties as far south 
as Austin. While the counties present 
considerable variance in topographical 
features, they still have enough in common 
to warrant a general description. 

About three-fourths of the entire area, 4,441 square miles, consists of high rolling prairies, of heavy black waxy soil, alternating 
in patches of deep red loam, easily tilled, and very productive. In Dallas, Tarrant, and Parker Counties, through which the several 

51 



VIEWS ON TRINITY RIVER 

DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS 



4: 



branches and tributaries of the Trinity and Brazos Rivers flow, the surface is diversified, changing from comparatively level tracts, to 
high rolling lands, and even hills 300 feet in height. Along the water courses there is more or less broken land, covered with timber. 
In Denton and Kaufman Counties, the lands, while still undulating, are smoother and less broken near the water courses. About four- 
fifths of the whole area is tillable, though there is, perhaps, more waste land in Parker and Tarrant Counties than in either, or all, of 
the others. The timber in all the counties consists of post oak, black oak, red oak, live oak, burr oak, bois d'arc, pecan, hickory, 
elm, and black jack, very little, if anj' of it, suitable for the manufacture of lumber. The underlying rock is limestone, and in the 
black waxy soils it forms the principal mineral ingredient. In the red and gray sandy soils it is less apparent. The several forks and 
tributaries of the Trinity and Brazos Rivers perform the drainage of the country, which has a rainfall of 35 to 38 inches, and an altitude 
of 500 to 900 feet above sea-level. The water obtained from ordinary wells, 25 to 40 feet deep, is generally impregnated, more or less, 
with lime, and in some localities cistern water is preferred for drinking purposes. Artesian wells have been bored in all of these 
counties; the water obtained being "soft" and abundant. For stock raising purposes many "tanks," or artificial ponds, have been built, 
which hold water all year round. The native grasses are valuable, both for pasturage and for hay, and in Kaufman County, vast 
quantities are cut and shipped each year. In Tarrant and Parker Counties, much of the hilly and gravelly land forms most excellent 
pasturage, and is extensively used for this purpose. In the other counties, owing to the dense population, the open pasturage is 

limited. There are a number of large pasture and 
stock farms, and the open range is very rapidly being 
enclosed in farms, agricultural pursuits being the 
engrossing occupation of the population. 

With proper cultivation, and under ordinary 
favorable conditions, the yield per acre of the various 
crops is as follows: Cotton, from one-third to one- 
half of a bale; corn, 30 to 40 bushels; wheat, 10 to 20 
bushels; oats, 40 to 60 bushels; barley, .30 to 40 
bushels; sorghum syrup, 100 to 150 gallons; Irish 
potatoes, 90 to 100 bushels; sweet potatoes, 150 to 200 
bushels; hay, three-fourths to one ton, millet, one 
and one-half to two tons. Peas, beans, peanuts, and 
all varieties of garden vegetables yield handsomely. 
Peaches, early apples, cherries, plums, grapes and 
strawberries, with ordinary attention, produce fruit 
of large size and fine flavor. Blackberries and dew- 
berries are indigenous to the soil, and grow luxuri- 
antlv. The pecan and walnut trees bear heavy crops, 
and the nuts of the former have a high market value. 
Fruits and vegetables are exported from all of these 
counties, and quite an extensive business in orchard, 
garden, and apiarv products has grown up. 

The black waxy soils of Texas are peculiar in 
many ways. Porous as a sponge, they absorb im- 



l^^^^'^ 



TRUCK FARM. TARRANT COUNTY- 



mense quantities of moisture, and retain it longer than almost any other soil in the State, except, perhaps, some of the sandy loams 
further west. The underlying rock is a soft limestone, cropping out, more or less, on the hill tops. While generally friable and easily 
cultivated, there are conditions of moisture when it "becomes tenacious like pitch. Owing to the perfect drainage of the country, this 
condition seldom lasts longer than a few days, and after a thorough soaking and partial drying, few soils respond more favorably to 
cultivation. Stagnant waters there are none, and miasma and malaria are almost wholly absent. Owing to the great expanse of 
prairie, there is always room for the free piovement of the air, purifying and carrying away the exhalations of the soil, which, not 
likely, but possibly could, induce disease. The nights, as a rule, are cool, and refreshing sleep is possible in the hottest weather. What 
few diseases there are in this region, usually yield readily to intelligent treatment. 



KAUFMAN COUNTY, TEXAS. This county was created in 1848, and has an area of 832 square miles. The population, in 1890, 
was 21,598, and it has probably doubled itself since then. It lies in the heart of the wheat-growing region of Texas, but is very 
well adapted to diversified farming. Stock raising is a very important part of agricultural operations, as the native grasses are very 
valuable for pasturage and hay, and large quantities of the latter 
commodity are exported to other parts of the State. There are a 
number of comparatively large pasture and stock farms, but 
compared with the acreage in cultivation, they occupy but little 
space. The cattle, horses and hogs of this and the adjoining 
counties are considered the best in the State, in point of grade 
and purity of breed. The live stock consists of 13,958 horses 
and mules, valued at f 344, 584; 18,710 head of cattle, valued at 
$144,605; 108 jacks and jennets, valued at |4,695; 361 head of 
sheep and goats, valued at |346; and 11,501 head of hogs, valued 
at 117,657; the entire live stock being valued at |511,8S7. 

There are, approximateh', 2,000 farms in the county, com- 
prising about 175,000 acres, producing, annually, about 25,000 
bales of cotton, 800,000 bushels of corn, 300,000 bushels of small 
grain, 15,000 bushels of Irish and sweet potatoes, 15,000 tons of 
hay, and about 12,000 tons of cotton seed, the quantity of each 
varj'ing with the demands of the market and the contingencies 
of the weather. The total value of the crop varies from 
$1,500,000 to $1,700,000. The orchard and garden products are 
estimated to yield, annually, from $50,000 to $60,000. The cities 
of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco, are within easy reach, and 
afford a fine market for everything a farmer can produce, and no 
better locality in the State can be found for operating small 
farms. Lands are cheap, and can be rented on acceptable 
terms. 

53 




> .l^-V- 



SCENES IN KAUFMAN COUNTY. 




Views in Terrell. 

1. State Insane Asylum. 5. Loading, 

2. Residence of N. B. Martin. 6. Water Tower. 

3. Bonner Mills. 7. Cotton Compress. 

4. Weighing Cotton. 8. Business Street. 



The taxable value of property in the county, in 1897, was rendered at |7, 785, 565, of which |5, 241, 521 was assessed against real 
estate, and $754,965 against railroads. Nearly all the American churches have organizations in the county, and all the advantages of social 
life common to a well settled locality in the older Statps, are found here. The county maintains 85 school-houses, employs 88 teachers, 
and has a school population of 4,696. The railway mileage in the county is 91 miles, and is the property of the Texas & Pacific Railway, 
The Texas Midland Railway, and the Texas Trunk Railway. 



»r »r »r sT »r »r 

"PIIE CITY OF TERRELL, situated at the crossing of the Texas & Pacific Railway, and the Texas Midland Railway, 32 miles east of 
Dallas, is the largest business point in the county. It is a well built little city, of 6,000 inhabitants, and maintains a great traffic 
in grain, cotton, flour, live stock, hides, wool, fruits, etc. Among its institutions are the State hospital for the insane, seven churches, 
a high school, several graded schools, an opera hall, two banks, an electric light plant, ice factory, cotton compress, flouring mill, two 
nurseries, a foundry, railway machine shops, several cotton gins, and several newspapers. 

Forney, also on the Texas & Pacific Railway, is noted for its extensive exports of hay, cotton, bois d'arc timber and fence posts. 
It is a busy trading point of 1,500 inhabitants. Kaufman, the county seat, is located at the junction of the Texas Midland and Texas 
Trunk Railways, and has 1,500 inhabitants. The other trading points in the county are: Crandall, popul.ition 300; Kemp, 400; 
Prairieville, 250; Elmo, 600; Lawndale, 300; and Lawrence, 250. 

sp- »sr »r »r »r »s- 

XHE CITY AND COUNTY OF DALLAS, TEXAS. The county of Dallas is the 
most populous county in the State, and stands first in taxable values. The 
area is 900 square miles, and its altitude above sea-level from 500 to 700 feet. The 
annual rainfall is about 38 inches, falling principally between September and July. 
The temperature varies from 100 degrees in mid-summer, to 15 degrees below freezing 
point in mid-winter. About three-fourths of the surface is high, rolling prairie, 
the remainder being somewhat hilly. About nine-tenths of the surface is capable 
of tillage. The prairie lands generally have a black waxy soil, which is very 
fertile; the upland hilly parts having lighter, sandy soils, and being naturalh 
covered with timber, .\long the river bottoms are areas of bois d'arc timber, whicli 
is used in the manufacture of wagons, hubs, spokes, street paving, and other 
purposes for which a hard, durable, unshrinkable wood is required. 

Being thickly settled, land values in the county are rather high, as compared 
with other counties. Improved farms range in price from f20 to |50 per acre. 
Unimproved lands are valued from flO to f30 per acre. There is no record of the 
land actually under tillage, but it is a safe estimate to say that there are about 2,500 
farms, comprising about 250,000 acres, under tillage. Many of them are quite large, 
being devoted to raising fine live slock. The annual yield of farm products 

55 




NEW UNION DEPOT EAST DALLAS TEXAS 




'■%^, 



is approximately 40,000 to 
45,000 bales of cotton, 1,- 
400,000 to 1,700,000 bushels 
of corn, 300,000 to 325,000 
bushels of wheat, 700,000 
to 800,000 bushels of oats, 
25,000 to 30,000 bushels of 
Irish and sweet potatoes, 
7,000 to 10,000 tons of 
hay, and 20,000 to 25,000 
tons of cotton seed. The 
value fluctuating between 
$2,000,000, and $2,400,00, 
according to season, prices, 
and demand. 

The raising of fine dairy 
cattle, registered horses and 
hogs, is an important busi- 
ness, and registered breeds 
of all kinds of domestic 
animals can be found any- 
where in the county. Native grasses are 
abundant, and of good quality, but, owing 
to the density of the population, very little 
open pasturage is available. Forage is 
raised in such abundance that thousands of 
cattle are brought in from the western 
ranges and fattened for the market. The 
live stock in the county, in 1897, consisted 
of 23,786 horses and mules, valued at 
1600,280; 20,790 head of cattle, valued at 
$225,050; 167 jacks and jennets, valued at 
$8,975; 6,599 sheep and goats, valued at 
$6,815; and 26,567 hogs, valued at $41,100; 
the value of the entire live stock being 
$882,220. 

The natural drainage of the county is 
perfect, being performed by the Trinity 
River and its numerous tributaries. There 





is no stagnant water in the county. For 
domestic uses, good water is obtained from 
springs in some localities, but good well water 
is obtainable anywhere. Cisterns are used in 
some localities. Truck farming and fruit 
growing are profitable branches of husbandry 
in this region owing to the close proximity of 
the several large cities like Dallas. Fort Worth, 
and Waco. 

The county was organized in 1846. The 
population, in 1890, was 67,042, to 
which 40 per cent may be safely 
added for the increase since 
the taking of the census. The 





Views in Daljlas 

3. Trinity Cotton Oil Co. 

4. E. O. Standard Milling Co. 

5. Lone Star Elevator. 



5V 




Views in Dallas. 
Episcopal College. 
;. Baptist Church. 

?.. Cumberland Hill School. 
4. San Jaciuto School. 

5. Residence W. H. Abrara 



taxable propert}- in the county was rendered, in 1897, at $31,565,750, of 
which $23,993,680 was assessed against real estate, $1,811,780 against 
railways, and $882,220 against live stock. The .combined railway 
mileage is 207-i'',ui miles, and is divided among the Texas & Pacific, the 
Missouri, Kansas & Texas, the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, the St. 
Louis Southwestern, and the Te.xas Trunk Railways. The county 
school population numbers 7,353; 121 school houses are maintained, 
and 152 teachers are employed. This does not include the school 
population of the city of Dallas, which has a municipal school system. 

HT »r »«r »r sT HT 

'PHE CITY OF DALLAS is a prosperous and rapidly growing com- 
mercial and manufacturing city, of about 60,000 inhabitants, 





INTERIOR NEW UNION DEPOT. EAST DALLAS. TEXAS. 

situated upon a plateau, some 30 feet higher than the Trinity 
River, which is here crossed by the Texas & Pacific Railway. 
It has been settled since 1840, and was named in honor of 
Geo. M, Dallas, of Texas, one of the vice-presidents. Its 
growth was slow until 1870, when it had 700 inhabitants. In 
1880, the population had increased to 10,267, and in 1890, to 
41,011. Since then there has been an increase of 30 to 40 per 
cent. It is the most important manufacturing and commercial 
center in the State, having an abundance of raw material 
within easy reach, and unexcelled facilities for the distribution 
of its products. 

Estimates of the volume of business transacted are 
published from time to time. They can, however, only be 
approximate. The mercantile business transacted, as nearly 



RESIDENCE G. M. DILLEY. 



as can be ascertained without a systematic census, will reach 
groceries, $12,600,000; boots and shoes, $1,050,000; lumber, 
$8,400,000; musical merchandise and jewelry, $700,000; sewing 
chickens, butter, commercial truck and fruits, $700,000; cotton, 
pounds; cotton seed, 16,800 tons; corn, 261,800 bushels; wheat. 



about the following figures: Dry goods, $9,800,000; 

$1,400,000; drugs, $1,400,000; agricultural implements, 
machines and furniture, $560,000; produce — eggs, 
30,000, bales; wool, 100,000 pounds; hides, 1,260,000 
600,000 bushels; total value, $38,893,000. 




D.\LLAS COL-"- 



There are about 100 extensive manufacturing establishments, and a great number of small industries. The investments in 
manufactures will run well into the millions, and the various factories are increasing yearly in number and capacity. The wages paid 
will probably exceed $3,500,000 per annum, and the value of the manufactured products will probably reach $9,000,000. The most 



important local enterprises are the great cotton and woolen mills, an extensive meat packery, a boot and shoe factory, a paper mill, 
a brewery, acotton gin factory, clothing and underwear factories, etc. Nearly all manufacturers of agricultural implements, machinery, 
wagons, pumps, wind-mills, boilers and engines, well-boring apparatus in other cities have branch houses here, Dallas being the 
greatest mart for goods of this class in the entire South. 

The transportation facilities are excellent, and consist of the Texas & Pacific Railway, main line from New Orleans and Texarkana 
to El Paso, where connection is made with lines leading to Mexico, and all points in New Mexico, Arizona, and on the Pacific Coast; 
the Dallas and Wichita branch; the Dallas- and Greenville branch; and the Dallas and Hillsboro branch of the Missouri, Kansas & 
Texas Railway; the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, the Texas Trunk Railway, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, and the 
Houston & Texas Central Railway. Several have extensive shops, and the Texas & Pacific has its general offices here. The financial 
interests of the city are represented in 5 banks, having a capital and surplus of $4,000,000, some 24 land, loan and mortgage companies, 
and 4 or 5 building and loan associations, which disburse, annually, millions of dollars for farm and city improvements. The city has 
about 22 miles of paved streets, varying in width from 80 to 120 feet, the paving material used being macadam in the residence portion, 
and blocks of bois d'arc on the business streets. The sidewalks are generally made of stone, cement or brick. The street car lines have 
a mileage of 28 miles, and are operated by electricity. 

Among its other institutions are city parks, several hospitals, charitable and benevolent societies, literary societies, church 
organizations, owning some 36 elegant places of worship, a full and complete school system; maintaining 20 stately and roomy school 
buildings, and 78 teachers. There are also 24 private schools, with some 60 teachers, and several high schools and colleges, conducted 
under the auspices of the several religious societies. Among the dozen or more hotels is the Oriental, a magnificent structure, erected 
at a cost of $500,000. The Texas State Fair is annually held at Dallas, where suitable grounds have been maintained for a number of 
years. The improvements cost about half a million dollars, and betterments are made every year. The annual attendance varies from 
250,000 to 300,000 people. Among the 28 newspapers printed in Dallas, are two dailies, the Meriting Nnvs and the Times-Herald. 

Scattered through the county are a number of small towns, of which the following named are the more important : Garland 
population, 500; Mesquite, population, 200; Lancaster, 
population, 800; Cedar Hill, population, 300; Farmers' 
Branch, population, 250; Hutchins, population, 200; 
Grand Prairie, population, 200; and CarroUton, popula- 
tion, 200. 

Mr sT MT Mr 9«r «r 

XARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS. This county has an 
area of 900 square miles, and adjoins Dallas County 
on its east boundary. In 1890, it had 41,142 inhabitants, 
the number having probably increased 30 to 40 per cent 
since then. The assessed values of taxable property in 
1897, amounted to $20,904,977, of which $6,153,500 were 
assessed against lands, $8,377,600 against town property, 
$1,931,206 against railroads, and $587,025 against live 
stock owned in the county. The school population, 

61 




exclusive of the city of Fort Worth, numbers 4,223, 
who are housed in 98 public school buildings; 103 
teachers being employed. Improved lands vary in 
price from $\5 to |40 per acre; lands without 
improvements being generally in the market at $5 to 
f25 per acre. 

Until within recent years, the raising of cotton, 
corn and live stock were the engrossing pursuits of 
the inhabitants, but, within the past decade, more 
attention is paid to diversified farming and com- 
mercial truck gardening, fruitgrowing, bee-keeping; 
the raising of fancy grades of live stock are more 
relied on as sources of profit than formerly. About 
four-fifths of the area of the county is fine tillable 
land, in kind and quality, about the same as in 
adjoining counties. The number of farms, either 





FURT WORTH IRON WORKS. 

under tillage or used for stock raising is about 1,500, com- 
prising, perhaps, 200,000 acres; the part under tillage 
producing, one year with another, about IS, 000 bales of cotton, 
800,000 bushels of corn, 400,000 bushels of wheat, 500:000 
bushels of oats, 6,000 bushels of rye, 20,000 bushels of Irish 
and sweet potatoes, 7,000 tons of'hay, 7,000 tons of cotton 
seed, and orchard and garden products to the value of 
$50,000; the whole crop worth, approximately, $1,225,000. 
The live stock interest is fairly large, the stock raised being 
of the highest grades and best breeds obtainable. In 1S97, 
there were rendered for taxation, 18,326 horses and mules, 
valued at $335,390; 23,327 head of cattle, valued at $222,725; 
137 jacks and jennets, valued at |8,290; 1,000 sheep and 
goats, valued at $975; and 14,984 head of hogs, valued at 
$19,645. There is practically no open range for stock in the 
countv. Good water is obtainable anywhere in the county at a 
depth of 14 to 40 feet, and in the vicinity of Fort Worth are 
several hundred artesian wells. There are a number of small, 
active trading points, of which Arlington, with 700; Grape- 
vine, with 500; Mansfield, with 500; Birdville, with 200; 
Dido, with 200; and Handley, with 200 inhabitants, are the 
more important towns. 



M.\I.N .slKt-.i-,i. i-,,Kl \\ 



fHE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS. In the exact center of Tarrant County, on a high rolling 
plateau, some 650 feet above sea level, is the city of Fort Worth, the general trading point and 
commercial emporium for the vast stretch of territory generally known as the Panhandle of Texas. 
It has now about 45,000 inhabitants, and is one of the healthiest cities in the State. Its 
location in the State is 253 miles southwest from Texarkana, 32 miles west of Dallas, and 95 ,■; 
miles southwest from Denison. Its local agricultural resources are varied, and great 
in quantity, aggregating in value from $1,250,000 to $1,500,000. The commercial 
transactions are estimated to approximate,' in drj- goods, $7,000,000; in groceries, 
$9,000,000; in lumber, $100,000; in hardware, $100,000; in agricultural implements, 
$1,300,000; in furniture, $600,000; in jewelry, $100,000; and in produce, $300,000. 
The products of the surrounding country handled are estimated at about 

15,000 bales of cotton, 500,000 pounds of wool, 800,000 pounds of hides, 

700,000 bushels of corn, 2,850,000 bushels of wheat, and 150,000 head of 
live stock. 

The transportation facilities are exceptionally good. The Texas & 
Pacific Railway main line passes through the city on its way from New 
Orleans to El Paso; its Transcontinental branch, extending from 
Texarkana, by way of Paris and Sherman, to Fort Worth, joins the main 
line here. The Fort Worth and Greenville branch of the Cotton Belt 
Railway, as well as the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, have 
their termini here. It is also the initial point of the Fort Worth & Rio 
Grande, and the Fort Worth & Denver City Railways. The main line of 
the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway passes through Fort Worth, and a 
branch of the Houston & Texas Central 
Railway extends from Fort Worth to Garrett ; 
the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway also 
passes through the city. Three of these 
railways have shops in Fort Worth, and 
employ a considerable number of men. 

The water supply of the city is obtained 
from some 300 artesian wells, the largest of 
which have a flow of 300,000 gallons per 
day, the depth ranging from 115 to 2,000 
feet. The municipal water works secure 
their water from the Clear Fork of the 
Trinity, and have an elaborate system of 
dams, pumps, mains and hydrants, bringing 
all parts of the city within the limits of 
fire protection. There are in operation about 

63 




Views in Fort Worth. 

1. Residence W. Scott. 

2. Residence C. H. Silliman. 
3. Hill Street Residences. 





Views in Fort Worth. 

Stock Yards Exchange and Hotel, 

Kort Worth .Stock Yards. 

Fort Worth Packing Company. 

Board of Trade Building. 

Hurley Office Building 

Hotel Worth. 




40 miles of electric street car lines, and 
of graded and macadamized streets about 
100 miles, which are kept in perfect 
condition. Most of the sidewalks are 
constructed of either flagging, brick or 
cement, and in the residence portion 
most of the streets are shaded by trees. 
The city is lighted by electricity, and 
its fire department is equal to all 
emergencies. 

The municipal educational facili- 
ties consist of 18 modern school buildings, 
in which 70 teachers are employed. 
About 5,000 pupils are annually enrolled. 
Private schools are numerous, and the 
Fort Worth University is justly famous 
in all parts of the State. The public 
buildings, in number, size and style — 
rank with those of any other citv of its 
age in the country. Of the 19 churches, 
some are magnificent structures, and the 
Board of Trade Club and library build- 
ings are some of the most handsome in 
the State. The number of industrial 
enterprises run into the hundreds, but 
the more important of these are the 
gas works, electric light plant, 5 grain 

■elevators, capacity about |l, 000, 000 bushels; 4 roller mills, capacity about 
1,500 barrels per day; several ice factories, a stove foundry, and the Fort 
Worth ]):icking house, the largest institution of its kind in the South. 
There are invested in ground, machinerj', buildings and working capital 
about $600,000; the daily capacity being the packing of 1,500 hogs, and 
250 cattle. The Fort Worth Union Stock Yards cover over 500 acres, and 
are the largest south of Kansas City. 

The local banking capital is about J5, 000, 000, divided among 7 banks 
The hotel accommodations are in every respect excellent. 




FORT WORTH WATER WORKS. 



Parker county, TEXAS. This county was formed in 1855, and adjoins Tarrant County on its east boundary. It has an area of 
900 square miles, or 576,000 acres, and lies from 700 to 900 feet above sea-level. The eastern half of the county resembles the 
neighboring county of Tarrant, but is more brokeij and hilly, high hills, covered with a thin layer of soil, frequently rise from the 
smooth prairies. In the western half are considerable stretches of sandy land, covered with post oak, black jack, and similar timber. 
There is a greater diversity of soils than in the counties east and west; some of the lands are exceptionally fertile, and some are too 
gravelly for any other use than for pasturage. Water for stock is abundant everywhere; ordinary wells are from 18 to 40 feet deep, and 
in the northern part artesian water is obtainable at a depth of 250 feet. The annual rainfall is about 30 inches per annum. 




BERRY PICKING, PARKER CODNTV. 



TEXAS i: PACIFIC RAILWAY STATION DURJNG FRUIT SEASON. 



General farming, fruit growing, truck growing, poultry raising, bee keeping, and the raising of live stock are the principal 
pursuits of the inhabitants, who in 1890 numbered 21,682, and have increased from 30 to 40 per cent since then. There are some 1,800 
farms, truck farms and stock ranches in the countv, aliout 120,000 acres being under tillage. The annual yield is about 18,000 bales of 
cotton, 600,000 bushels of corn, 115,000 bushels of'wheat, 160,000 bushels of oats, and 1,000 bushels of other small grain; 300 barrels of 
molasses, and 9,000 tons of cotton seed, the values produced being about |1, 100,000. Some 2,500 acres are devoted to fruits, truck 
growing, etc., producing annually a value of about $50,000 to §75,000. The live stock in 1897, was valued at $549,015, and consisted of 
14,864 horses and mules, 24.490 head of cattle, 101 jacks and jennets, 966 goats and sheep, and 12,462 hogs. A great business is done 



annually at Weatherford, in the fattening of beef cattle brought in from the western range 
counties; cotton seed meal, hulls and farm forage being extensively used. 

The assessed valuations of taxable property in.the county in 1897, amounted to $6,338,575, 
of which $3,859,450 were charged to real estate, |571,250 to railroads, and $549,015 to live stock. 
Improved lands sell at prices ranging from $10 to $30 per acre; unimproved at $5 to $12 per 
acre. Pasture lands, good for grazing only, can be had much cheaper. The county maintains 
90 school houses, employs 98 teachers, and- has 4,745 children of school age. 

Coal exists in the western part of the county, but has not been developed to any extent. 
White, red and brown sandstone, and white and gray limestone, both of superior quality, are 
abundant. A superior brick is made at Bennet, a station on the Texas & Pacific Railway, and 
of this and building stone, large quantities are exported. 



•^ '^ 'ff 



ff «r 




XHE CITY OF WEATHERFORD. The county seat of Parker county, is admirably situated «°'-'-'='' '■'''-^^- weatherford. 

in the midst of a fine fertile farming district, near the center of the county. It has between 
7,000 and 8,000 inhabitants, and is the point of junction of the Texas & Pacific, the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, and the Weatherford 
Mineral Wells, and Northwestern Railways, whicli have a combined mileage of 70-1^0' miles in the county. The city lies about 900 feet 

above sea level, is well built of stone and brick, and is a very attractive place. 
The principal traffic consists of the handling of grain, cotton, flour, coal, live 
stock, hides, wool, commercial truck and fruits. It has a good local school 
system, several private schools, 3 colleges, 3 national banks, 9 churches, an opera 
house, an elegant court house, 2 cotton compresses, several cotton gins, a planing 
mill, 2 flour mills, 1 ice factory, a fine brick and tile factory, a castor oil press, 
potteries and many smaller industries. There are several fine stone business 
blocks, and many handsome private residences. Three weekly newspapers are 
published in Weatherford. Other trading points of importance in the county are 
Springtown, population 700; and Will, population 300. 

»r sr sT »r sr »r 

DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS. This fine, rich black land county lies north of 
Dallas and Tarrant Counties, on the Transcontinental branch of the Texas & 
Pacific Railway. About two-thirds of its 909 square miles is high, rolling, black 
waxy prairie land. A narrow belt of woodland, mostly post oak, runs through 
the county from north to south, the same being interspersed with larger and 
smaller patches of prairie. The woodland soils are gray loams, easily tilled, and 
fairly fertile. Fully three-fourths of the surface of the county is tillable, and 
under proper cultivation will yield, one year with another, per acre, one-third to 



R \2'\ 


■; / 


u-^^^H 


|P>fe 







PUBLIC SCHOOL, DENTON, TliXAS. 




Views in Denton. 

Oil Mill. 
Street Scene. 
Alliance Mill. 



one-half bale of cotton, 30 to 40 bushels of corn, 12 to 20 bushels 
of wheat, 40 to 60 bushels of oats, 30 to 40 bushels of barley, 100 
to 200 gallons of sorghum syrup, 90 to 100 bushels of Irish 
potatoes, 150 to 200 bushels of sweet potatoes, three-fourths to 2 
tons of cultivated hay, and 1 ton of prairie hay. Fruit growing 
is carried on to a large extent, and peaches, early apples, cherries, 
plums, grapes and berries, yield large, handsome, and well 
flavored fruit. The annual rainfall varies from 33 to 35 inches, 
and is sufficiently well distributed to insure fair crops from year 
to year. The county is well drained, and has abundant water for stock. For 
household purposes it is generally obtained from wells, 16 to 40 feet deep. 
The annual product of the county, grown on about 2,000 farms, com- 
prising about 160,000 acres, is valued at |1, 500, 000 to Jl, 700, 000, and 
con.sists, approximately, of about 30,000 bales of cotton, 1,500,000 bushels of 
corn, 1,000,000 bushels of wheat, 700,000 bushels of oats, 25,000 bushels of 
Irish and sweet potatoes, 1,000 bushels of peas and beans, 6,000 tons of hay, 
300 barrels of sorghum molasses, 250 tons of sorghum cane, and about 15,000 
tons of cotton seed. Aljout #60,000 are obtained, annually, from truck 
gardening, bee-keeping, poultry and fruits. The live stock in the county is of 
high grade, and valuable. In 1S97, there were rendered for taxation 20,926 horses 
and mules, 31,322 head of cattle, 174 jacks and jennets, 2,902 sheep and goats, 
and 19,672 hogs; thewhole valued at|609, 210. The county was organized in 1846, 
and had, in 1S90, 21,289 inhabitants, the number of whom has increased about 40 
per cent since then. The taxable property in 1S97, was assessed at $7,526,765. 
The county maintains 92 school houses, employs 93 teachers, and has 4,757 
youngsters of scholastic age. The transportation facilities of the county consist 
of the Texas & Pacific Railwav, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, and the 
Gulf, Colorado & Pacific Railway, the combined railways having a mileage of 
S9i'o- miles. The trading points in Denton County are the city of Denton, county 
seat; Pilot Point, population, 2,000; Roanoke, 350; Argyle, 250; Bolivar, 200; 
Lewisville, 600; and Little Elm, 200. 

The City of Denton is 38 miles northwest of Dallas, and forms the junction 
of the Texas & Pacific, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railways. It is a very 
neat, well built, and attractive little city, of about 4,000 people. Among its institutions are a commodious public school building, 7 
places of worship, 2 banks, first class hotels, an efficient fire department, a fine opera house, 2 weekly newspapers, an elegant court 
house, electric plant, 2 roller mills, 3 grain elevators, an ice factory, 2 brick and tile works, 2 potteries, 3 cotton gins, a cottonseed oil 
mill, a cannerv, a planing mill, etc. The principal exports are products from the surrounding country, and the local manufactures, 
such as cotton, oil, grain, brick, tile, pottery, hides, wool, fruits and commercial truck. 




The 3^a%m. Orchard cASi^D Garden hh. Texas. 

'here was a time in the history of Texas, when the production of cattle, corn and cotton, were considered the only legitimate 
agricultural enterprises a gentleman could engage in. Even then, it was beneath the dignity of the land owner to do much more 
than "boss the job," while the tenants performed the manual labor. The work, performed in a primitive way, did not generallv 




MAKIN(i AND BALING HAY ON LINE OF TEXAS 0,; PACIFIC RAILWAY, 



yield the results now obtained, but prices were good and that style of farming was fairly remunerative. The vegetable garden yielded 
the "greens" that were required, and the country store, or the larger store, at the county seat, furnished the other supplies. When 
settlement was had at the end of the year, the farmer was generally ahead. Later came railroads, immigration, new conveniences, new 
demands, competition in the production of cotton, and new conditions generally. While the old timer might have had some misgivings 



about selling eggs and poultry at the county seat, the newcomer had no qualms of 
conscience in this respect. In place of the old razor-back hog, which could outrun 
a negro politician, they introduced the Poland-China, the Jersey Red and the Berk- 
shire, and sat up o' nights to see that they staid on the farm. The long-legged, 
long-horned Texas steer, gave way gradually to the white-faced Hereford cattle, 
the Durham, the Holstein and the gentle Jersey, so that of the last named breed 
there are more registered cattle in Texas than in any other State of the Union. 
Next to Iowa, Texas leads in the number of fine hogs. The scantily-covered, short 
and coarse-wooled Mexican sheep have given waj' to the pure bred French and 

Spanish merino sheep. 








Texas in 1898. 



and other thoroughbreds. 
The long-horned beef 
steer has been improved 
from an 800 pound to a 
1,200 and 1,400 pound 
animal. The old type 
has almost entirely dis- 
appeared. Good horses 
and mules can now be 
found almost anywhere 
in the State. While com- 
mon barnyard fowl are 
still numerous, great 
progress has been made 
in introducing new varieties, 
Texas farms. 

In agricultural and horticultural lines, even greater progress has been 
made. The cheap and easy transportation afforded, made it possible to 
develop agricultural resources hitherto unthought of. Texas wheat, grown in 
a limited way, for home consumption only, has become a staple in foreign 
markets, being of the very best qualit}- and the earliest in the market. . About 
500,000 acres are planted in this crop, yielding about 7,500,000 bushels. The 
Texas red rust-proof oats are famous wherever known and are alwaj's in 
demand. Fullv 500,000 acres are devoted to this crop, which yields from 30 to 
60 bushels to the acre. At 30 bushels, the yield will be 15,000,000 bushels. 
Figuring wheat at 75 cents per bushel and oats at 45 cents, we have a money 
value for these two crops of J12,345,000. The acreage in corn is about 3,500,000 
acres, yielding an average of 20 bushels, or a yield of 70,000,000 bushels, worth, 
at 40 cents, $28,000,000. The cotton acreage has increased from 3,259,972 

72 



and every first-class breed can be found on 



TjrVA'; TM 1S7R 



acres, in 1887, to 4,520,310 acres, in 1891, and probably 5,000,000 acres in 1897. At four-tenths of a bale per acre, the yield would be 
2,000,000 bales, worth, at $25 per bale, $50,000,000. These, the great crops of Texas have, in two decades, almost quadrupled in acre- 
age and yield, but there were grown at the same time large crops of barley, rye, millet, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, hay, sugar cane, 
sorghum cane, rice, and fruits and vegetables. Of the latter, there are probably 150,000 acres in cultivation, yielding a money value 
of 15,500,000. The exports out of Texas, of early fruits and vegetables, in 1897, is estimated to have reached the sum of $3,000,000, 
and among these exports were 2,800 carloads of cabbage. 

The number of farms in Texas, as far as information obtainable justifies the estimate, is about 200,000, comprising about 
12,000,000 acres, but not all of this is devoted to the cultivation of standard crops. Stock farming is an important business in many 
parts of the State, and on most stock farms large quantities of forage are grown. Ranches, where dependence is placed on the natural 
pasturage onl}', are not included. The crops grown to advantage in Texas differ in some respects from those grown in the Northern 
and Eastern States, because the prevalent climatic conditions admit of a much greater variety in production. 

As in the other Southern States, cotton is the staple, the cash product of the soil. It is king in Texas, as well as in other States, 
and, of all crops grown, yields the greatest gross revenue. Of the entire crop grown in the United States, the Texas proportion is the 
greatest. The inhabitants of the earth must be clothed, and cotton is as cheap and durable a fibre as can be found for making cloth. 
Next to wool, also a great Texas product, it will be in popular favor as long as mankind exists, and Texas will do her share in 
clothing the millions yet to be born. Generally, the cultivation of cotton is profitable, but .sometimes the production exceeds the 
immediate demand, and then, for a time there is a depression in prices, but for all that, it is a standard crop that will endure for ages. 

Cotton is planted in spring, beginning about the middle of March along the Gulf Coast and ending about the middle of May in 
northern Texas. It does well in all parts of the State, being grown on the moist Gulf Coast, a few feet above sea-level, as well as on 
the high dr}' plains of the Texas Panhandle, at an altitude of 3,000 feet, and under irrigation it yields well at still greater altitudes. 
The yield per acre varies from one-third of a bale to one bale and a half, according to soil and rainfall. Under irrigation a good 
average of three-fourths of a bale can be secured year after year, though a yield of one and a half to two bales is not uncommon. In 
middle and northern Texas the average farm will produce from one-third to three-fourths of a bale, and where cultivation is thorough, 
and the rainfall timely, a bale per acre has been produced a number of years in succession. A bale of cotton ordinarily weighs 500 
pounds, and the price varies from 5 cents to 8 cents per pound. It is sometimes grown on wheat stubble just han'ested, though cotton 
planted as late as this is sometimes caught bj' early frosts. It will, however, make lint until killed by the frost, usually in November or 
December. Picking commences in July and lasts until Februar}'. 

Corn is planted in Texas from February to June. It is sometimes cut down by frost in March or April, but generally comes up 
again from the root. Many farmers plant corn up to June 15th, but run the risk of being caught by early frosts in autumn. It ripens 
from August to November. It does well in all parts of the State, yielding a good average of 25 bushels to the acre. Under very 
favorable conditions of the weather it will, in some years, yield from 50 to 65 bushels, but owing to the cool nights which generally 
prevail, the average of the northern States is not reached. 

Wheat, compared with cotton and corn, is grown on a limited scale, about 7,500,000 bushels being the quantity produced. The 
acreage devoted to this crop fluctuates with the market. Texas has certain advantages over other States in the production of wheat. It 
is sown in October and November and harvested from the middle of May to the middle of June, making it possible to ship wheat or 
flour north six weeks earlier than it can be produced there. It is heavier than the wheat of the Middle States, and can be transported 
by sea without deterioration. In Texas, it yields a good average of 15 bushels per acre, though 20 bushels are raised in quite a number 
of counties. In the irrigated regions, 40 bushels is the average, and 50 and 60 bushels are not uncommon. Northern and Central 
Texas produce the bulk of the wheat, though it has been produced 300 miles west of Fort Worth. It yields excellent crops on the 

73 



black waxy lands, and also on the chocolate-colored loams of the western prairie region, though the crop there is not so certain, 
unless the rainfall is timely. 

The oat crop is a great one in Texas. It is highly prolific, and gives an average yield of 40 bushels to the acre. On the 
chocolate loams west of Weatherford it yields from 50 to 65 bushels, and crops of 100 to 120 bushels are not uncommon. The lower 
'average, 40 bushels, is maintained on the black lands, and in the county north and east of them j-ear after year, while in the westerly 
counties, owing to occasional irregular rainfall, the crop is sometimes scant, yet when a crop is made it is generally a large one. In 
the irrigated regions of the Pecos and Rio Grande Valleys, the average crop is from 75 to SO bushels. Oats are sown in February and 
early March, and as the harvest is early, farmers generally obtain the best prices, which first products usually command. Besides, the 
land from which the crop has been harvested is still available for a crop of millet, sorghum, or even corn. The grain sells readily in 
middle Texas, for home use and for export, at 20 to 45 cents per bushel. 

Barley and r3'e yield well in all parts of Texas, but are sown in the fall in order to secure green pasturage for stock, ver}' little 
being produced for the grain. In the Rio Grande and Pecos Valleys, they yield from 30 to 40 bushels per acre. The barley grown in the 
Rio Grande and Pecos Valleys is the finest grown in the United States. 

Sorghum is grown extensivelv. In Eastern and Central Texas, large quantities of sorghum syrup are produced, the quantity 
obtained varying from 100 gallons to 150 gallons per acre, ordinarily selling from 40 cents to 75 cents per gallon. In these parts of the State, 

considerable quantities are also grown for forage, but in the western counties, it is 
grown in quantity on every farm, and few cattle and sheep ranches in the remote 
grazing counties are without their sorghum patch. Grown in eastern and central 
Texas, it yields from 2 to 4 tons to the acre; on the great Staked Plains, the 
yield, according to the season, is from 2 to 5 tons, and on the irrigated lands of the 
Rio Grande and Pecos Valleys, the yield is from 6 to 12 tons. In the counties west 
of the Brazos River and extending up the Pecos River for 200 miles, are grown vast 
quantities of Dhurra, Kafiir corn, Egyptian corn and milo maize. The grain is 
considered equal to Indian corn for live stock, when ground or crushed. This 
family of grain resists dry weather better than the Indian corn, rarely fails, and, 
under favorable conditions, will yield from 30 to 60 bushels per acre. It requires 
less time to mature than does Indian corn, and can be planted as late as June, when 
the summer rains set in on the Staked Plains and the mountain country beyond the 
Pecos River. Under irrigation, it yields from 40 to 80 bushels, if properly cultivated. 
Sugar Cane and Rice are grown almost exclusively near the Gulf Coast, 
where there are several extensive rice mills and cane sugar factories. In eastern 
Texas, sugar cane is grown more or less in all the counties, for home 
use, a coarse brown sugar and large quantities of molasses being 
"^^ffi^^^J made on the farms, where it is consumed. Very little of this sugar 
reaches the markets. 

Sugar Bekts are extensiveh' grown in the Pecos Valley, some 
4,000 acres being planted in this crop in 1898, There is an exten- 
sive beet sugar factory at Eddy, N. M., which consumes the crop 

^,^_, ,^_^^^^^^^_ grown in the Vallev, and contracts each year with the farmers for 

Water Melon Farm ^■'^ l^^^^^^^^m s -» 

Making Hay. 





its supply of beets. The yield per acre varies from 5 tons to 20 tons, and the average price paid is $4 per ton. Beets are generally 
planted from the first of April to the first of June, and are harvested from October to February. They require much care and intelli- 
gent cultivation, being profitable if properly attended to. The sugar content varies from 12 per cent to 20 per cent, according to seed 
and cultivation. Beets can be grown profitably in central and northern Texas, and make most excellent feed for cattle and sheep. 
They will pay if grown for feed alone, but yield a good revenue if they can be disposed of at a beet sugar factory. None have yet 
been built in Texas, but several enterprises of the kind are under consideration. 

Hay is generally secured by cutting' the native grasses, in central and northern Texas, or planting millet or sorghum, broadcast 
or drilled. In eastern Texas but little hay is produced, but excellent pasturage is secured by planting Bermuda grass or Japanese 
clover, the latter being more of a volunteer than a cultivated forage. The switch cane along the water-courses is also valuable, 
particularly during the winter months, when the pasturage is increased by sowing barley or rye, which is grazed all winter and cut in 
May or June, sometimes for hay, sometimes for the grain. On the great plains and in the stock raising region generally, the native 
pasturage is the chief reliance. During the dry winter months, the grass is thoroughly cured, retaining all its nourishing properties, 
and is equal in quality to the best hay. Sorghum is grown extensively and kept in reserve, to provide extra forage for cattle with 
calves and ewes with lambs, and also as a protection against cold weather, or snow and sleet. In the Rio Grande and the Pecos Valleys 
are perhaps 25,000 to 30,000 acres in alfalfa, which is used both as pasturage and for hay. The yield varies from 4 to 8 tons per acre, 
and varies in price from f 3 per ton in the stack, to $9 per ton baled. Alfalfa is usually sown either in April and May or July and August, 
and after the first year, will stand from four to six cuttings per annum. It is irrigated after each cutting and is generally ready for 
the next cutting in a month or six weeks, During the winter months, it affords good green pasturage, and in March or April is much 
sought after by flock masters, who bring in their ewes and lambs. During this time, the monthly rental paid for alfalfa pasturage is 
sometimes as high as $5 per acre. Alfalfa is a forage />ar excellence for work stock of all kinds, who get no other food, is superior 
feed for dairy stock, and hogs are raised on it exclusively, until they weigh about 250 pounds, say within 8 months after weaning, 
when they are fed Egyptian or Kaffir corn and are hardened up for the market. It costs about a cent a pound to carry a hog to 
maturity on alfalfa, and a superior animal in every way is produced. 

Irish potatoes yield well in the early part of the year, and are grown successfully as far west as the 100th meridian, beyond which 
they require .some irrigation. Maturing as they do in July and August, they do not keep well, and must be consumed soon after they 
are dug. In central and eastern Texas, July and August are generally too dr}' to admit of planting a fall crop. Aided by irrigation, a 
fall crop can be grown, and such late potatoes will keep as well in Texas as elsewhere. Sweet potatoes are grown in nearly all parts of 
the State, and do particularly well on sandy or loamy soils. They yield from 200 to 300 bushels per acre, and are highly prized. The 
sweet potato is not a good keeper, and is therefore generally left in the ground until wanted. Under irrigation they have yielded as 
high as 600 bushels to the acre. While preferably grown for human consumption, they have been found to make most excellent feed 
for fattening hogs, and in some parts of the State are considered a superior food for this purpose. 

The Truck Garden. Until recently, say within the past 10 years, most garden produce was consumed almost entirely at home. 
Of late years there has been an extensive export of extra early fruits and vegetables to the Northern and Eastern markets. These 
exports include nearly all varieties of vegetables and fruits, such as melons, pumpkins, squashes, cantaloupes, cucumbers, turnips, 
beets, celery, cauliflower, onions, cabbages, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberries, blackberries and peaches. From the coast 
counties shipments of vegetables are made nearly all win'er, and are continued until June. Strawberries frequently reach the market 
in March. Eastern Texas and central Texas appear in the markets a little later, shipping both north and west. Peaches come in about 
July 1, and continue late into the fall. Texas, besides being a great exporter of vegetables in spring, is also a great importer in fall. 
The exports will probably reach a value of f3, 000, 000 in spring, and a similar amount is paid out in fall for garden truck and fruits 

75 



imported. The fall garden in Texas is profitable when carried on with irrigation, -V^i^'^^u'^cfoTemb'acef nrarl'/an^fh^ 'vegetables 

cannot always be started in time to yield a proper return without some irngation The fa crop embraces nearly a 11^^^^^^^^ 

grown in spring, but they are sold at much higher prices. Large quantities of celery, cauliflower, cabbages ana onions are exportea 

from the Rio Grande and Pecos Valleys from September to March. foothold within the oast 20 

Fruit Growing. As a separate and distinct business m Texas, fruit growing has only found a firm foothold ^itnin tne past zu 

in several widely separated localities. In northern, eastern and central Texas the finest fruit is 
zander and several other varieties ripen about May 12th. Many others mature during the summer 



'n'is^arrTed^Jn proL;b^;7;Ve;;eraT w^elv7e7a;at;d"i;cTluTes:--In°\iort^ and central Texas the finest fruit 

It IS carriea on pronid..i> i i s ^ - , t-, _^ varieties ripen about May 12th. Many others mature d- 

af suitable varieties, it can be arranged to 
six months in the year. In eastern Texas, where there is much iron in the soil, the fruit is highly colored and has an exqu,: 



years. 

WhUesec^re from'occasionar frosts, they do not yield so well in the coast counties, but on the sandy loams of ^^t.^red porti^on of 

results. 

absolu 

the mountain 

unsatisfactory 

the fruit 

Grande 

said 

can be had, the bi^r°P^^" are grown with profit. Among the small fruits, blackberries, dewberries and algeritas are indigenous to 
.andria. «'= ' ' f j^^ « „ ^^„^3l I' Among the wild fruits are three or four varieties of wild plums, several families of 
= ,i,wnaws mav aooles etc Nut trees do very well, the hickory, black walnut and pecan are natives, but the 
IShTaZrfaberraTdThnoTd! g?ot to perf ec^Jl , where proplrly planted and taken care of. ..long the Gulf Coast, oranges and 
bananas reach maturity, but are not grown in sufficient quantity to make any impression on the market. 




Muscat of Alex 

the soil, and strawberries 




FARM SCENE IN WESTERN TEXAS. 



The C%oss Timbe%s. 



A ti fc,,t^ A-^ '"k 'f P^PPl^'^t- ^^^ State of Texas is traversed north and south for a distance of several hundred miles near 
the 99th meridian, by two belts of post oak timber, commonly known as the " Upper and Lower Cross Timbers " With thetr 
ramifications through several counties they indicate a change in the geology of the country, marking, to some extent the 
carboniferous areas in Texas. The Lower Cross Timbers are a narrow strip of timber, broken frequently by patcheHf nS' and 
extending southward from near Henrietta, in Cooke County, through Denton, Tarrant, Johnson, and Hill Counties, to the bLzos River 




-KASiLANl) Lijr.MV. 



„«.„». T t ^Pf Cross rinibers are much more extensive, and in the counties through which thev run, there is sufficient variation in 
?nH r n h n ' f'?^ k ""'""' a separate description. This would embrace the bounties of Palo Pinto, Stephens, Eastland, Erath 

th^ n^ nt, ,' °^ them being in the Texas coal measures, and having many features in common, though they differ materially from 
tJ°r A^'""^ eas and west of them. All of these counties present considerable diversity in their soils. Clays of various kind^ 
fn .. Predotninate though there are areas of fine loamy soils, and rich bottom lands. The general surface may be described as h Uy 
LS .?.,-^ .^" ^If r"^^.l'", ""'^'f ^",'i'="'2S °"t into broad, smooth valleys. Other places consist of broad, flat mesas or tab e^ 
?S in^l, ^^ abruptly from the lower levels. The altitudes vary from 900 feet above sea level, to 1,600 feet, and the rainfall is about 
28 inches per annum. About one-half of the entire area is suitable for general farming, the remainder being fairly good pasture land 



though much of it is rocky or gravelly. Nearly all the drainage of the country is performed by the tributaries of the Brazos River. 
These are very numerous, and are fed by hundreds of smaller streams and ravines. Owing to the uneven lay of the land, nearly all the 
water-courses have a rapid flow, and have deep channels. Most of them run dry during part of the year, but hold water in deep holes 
in their channel. Springs are numerous, and good wells are abundant, though frequently salty or sulphurous water is found. Coal is 
found in nearly all of the counties, and in Erath County it is mined extensively. Gray and brown sandstones, limestone, brick clay, 
fire clay, and potters' clay are present in all of the counties, and in some are turned to practical account. Gas and oil have been found 
in several, but no attempt has been made to develop them. 

The post oak and live oak timber is found generally on the hilly lands, and where the country is much broken there is an 
abundance of cedar, of sufficient size for fence posts. In the valleys and "flats," there is usually a growth of mesquite timber, while 
along the streams the pecan, elm, Cottonwood, lime and hackberry predominate. The soils vary with the "lay of the land." The bottom 
lands and deep valleys, where large enough for tillage, are exceptionally fertile, the prevailing soil being a deep, black loam. The 
tablelands have the red or chocolate loam of the " Plains Country," further west; all of them are easily tilled, and fertile. In the post 
oak areas are sandy soils, varying in fertility and in color, from light gray to mulatto. The different soils form so many combinations, 
that anything like a detailed description of them is impracticable. The country might be called ' ' spotted, ' ' both as to soils and subsoils. 
Wild fruits, such as wild plums, grapes of several varieties, mulberrieSj algeritas and pecans grow in great profusion in sheltered localities. 

The country, as a whole, is a fairly good farming region, supplemented by most excellent facilities for raising live stock cheaply 
and profitably. There is an abundant range, plenty of water, ample shelter, and range stock neither require, nor receive feed from the 
hand of man, unless fattened especially for the butcher's block. Of course, well bred stock, well taken care of, pays better, in the long 
run, than inferior stock left to shift for itself. Under ordinary conditions, and worked with ordinary farming implements, the yield 
obtained per acre, from the average farm, is from 600 to 1,200 pounds of cotton in the seed, 20 to 30 bushels of corn, 10 to 15 of wheat, 
35 to 60 of oats, and one to one and one-half tons of hay. 

The climate is salubrious, there being no excesses of either heat or cold. There is no stagnant water or other causes for disease. 
The mineral waters of the region are famous for their effect in cases of chronic ailments of various kinds, and are visited by thousands in 
search of relief. The farmer who ' ' wants to give his boys a start, ' ' or wants more elbow room for himself and more land for little money, 
can do no better than to settle in one or the other of these counties. The tillable lands are just as good in quality as those further east, 
and grazing lands can be had very cheaply. The country is thinly settled, compared with the Red River or Black Land counties; natural 
pasturage is better and more abundant, and, owing to lack of population, within reach of everyone. As a farmer, wool grower and 
stock raiser, the three lines, if possible, carried on by the same individual, the prospects of the newcomer are good from the start. 
Large towns are not so numerous as further east, and farms are farther apart, but the schools, church facilities and social conveniences 
are sufficient for the population. The region is settling up, and within a few years agricultural lands will have reached the values 
common to the more densely settled counties of northern Texas. 

jr jt »r »r »r »r 

The county of PALO pinto, TEXAS. This county was formed from Bosque and Navarro Counties, in 1856, and has an area of 
968 square miles, about one-half of which is covered with oak timber. The county is rather rugged and broken, with high hills, 
flat tablelands, and deep and fertile valleys. It has about 10,000 inhabitants, most of whom are engaged in farming and stock raising. 
While very well adapted to general farming, it is also an ideal country for stock farming. The general elevation above sea level is from 
1,500 to 1,800 feet, and the average rainfall about 26.23 inches per annum. While crops are generally safe from drouth, and good harvests 

78 



the principal object being rather to produce 



are made year after year, it happens at long intervals, that either a spring crop or a fall crop is sometimes damaged, for want of rain at 
the right time. Not counting ranches exclusively devoted to stock raising on the natural pasturage, there are about 1,000 farms in the 
county. The agricultural products are estimated to amount to, annually, about 5,000 bales of cotton, 200,000 bushels of corn 30 000 
bushels of wheat, 60,000 bushels of oats, 1,500 bushels of other small grain, 1,500 bushels of Irish and sweet potatoes, l,50o'ton's of 
cultivated hay, 500 tons of sorghum cane, 100 barrels of sorghum syrup, and 2,000 tons of cotton seed. The orchard and garden 
products, grown on some 1,800 acres, are valued at about |8, 000; the entire acreage in cultivation, some 50,000 acres Droducins? 
annually, a value of $250,000 to $275,000. _ . f k. 

Slock raising in the county is usually carried on as a separate and distinct busines 
butchers' stock than dairy stock. 
Very little feeding is done during the 
year, except to fatten stock for a 
month or so, on corn and cotton seed 
before sending to market. The live 
stock in the county, in 1897, was 
rendered for taxation, as follows: 
9,486 horses and mules, valued at 
f 145, 835; 30,748 head of cattle, valued 
at $235,511; 62 jacks and jennets, 
valued at $2,643; 593 head of sheep 
and goats, valued at |441 ; and 8,218 
hogs, valued at 19,066; the whole 
live stock being valued at $393,496. 

The value of all property in the 
county, rendered for taxation in 1897, 
amounted to $3,282,305, of which 
$366,461 was assessed against 44.44 
miles of railroad, $1,817,232 against 
land, $375,941 against town propertv, 
and $393,496 against live stock. The 
school population numbers about 
2,000, for whose benefit 47 school 
houses and 50 teachers are maintained 
and emplo^'ed. 

Bituminous coal is found in 
many places in the county, and at 
Rock Creek, a station on the Weather- 
ford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern 
Railway, coal is mined extensively. 
Thurber Junction, a station on the 




FARai SCENE. PALO PINTO COUNTY. 



Texas & Pacific Railway, is an important shipping point for this commodity also, the daily export amounting to about 1,000 tons. Gas 
has been found in a number of wells, but no effort has been made to put it to practical use. The Brazos River, which meanders through 
the county for a distance of 200 miles, and Palo Pinto Creek, together with the numerous tributaries of both, afford all the stock water 
required, though this is supplemented by storage tanks and reservoirs on the stock farms. Drinking water is obtained from wells, but 
is not uniformly good, some localities having to depend on cisterns. 

The Texas & Pacific Railway crosses the southern part of the county, the towns of Strawn, Gordon and Thurber Junction being 
stations thereon. The Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern Railway enters the county in the northeastern part, and has its 
terminus at Mineral Wells, a famous health resort. 

Improved lands in the county sell at prices ranging from $5 to $15 per acre; unimproved farm lands from $2 to $5 per acre, 
and unimproved grazing lands even much cheaper. 

Palo Pinto, the county seat, has no railway facilities. It has about 1,200 inhabitants, the usual mercantile, industrial and social 
facilities of a town of its dimensions, and is a good local trading point. 

*■ «r *■ »r «r >r 

XHE city of mineral wells is the largest town in Palo Pinto County, has a population variously estimated to be between 
1,800 and 2,200 inhabitants. Its situation and surroundings, and its mineral waters are favorable to the groveth of a fairly populous 
town. It is well and favorably known as a health resort, without equal, its waters being considered by the thousands who have 
sojourned there, as a panacea for most ills that the human family is heir to. The city is located on a high plateau of gently sloping 
land, drifting into a smooth valley a few miles distant. Situated as it is, at the foothills of the Palo Pinto mountains, it commands 
one of the finest views of the Millsap Valley, a succession of fine farms, woodlands, patches of prairie, skirted on either side by 
high wooded hills. 

On the town site are some 200 wells, from 50 to 200 feet deep, all of which have mineral ingredients and are medicinal in 
character. Some 10 or 15 of them are in constant use for the treatment of patients, who number about 5,000 annually. While the wells 
have the same general characteristics, there are differences that make some of them more desirable than others for the treatment of 
special ailments. All of them have been analyzed, but the printing of the analyses would convey but little information to the general 
reader. The same can be obtained at any time by addressing publisher Jl/iiifral Wells Xews, Mineral Wells, Texas. In addition to 
the usual commercial and social facilities of a town of 2,000 people. Mineral Wells has 4 bath houses, 6 large and commodious hotels, 
to which has been added recently the " Hexagon," a large modern hotel, unique in design and fitted up with all modern conveniences. 
Parks and boulevards have been laid out, and measures are taken to make the place as attractive as possible to visitors. 

The use of the waters is advised in dyspepsia, and they aid greatly in inducing proper digestion. They act beneficently on the 
kidneys, and are of great utility in fevers, rheumatism, gout, congestion of the kidneys, bladder, etc., as well as of great value in 
gravel and other disorders of the kidneys. They are almost a specific for rheumatism, and for diseases peculiar to women of an 
advanced age. Disorders of the brain, induced by change of life in elderly women, are frequently cured by waters taken from " The 
Crazy Well," at Mineral Wells. 

These waters are taken internally for dyspepsia and other stomach troubles, but for other ailments are used as baths. There is 
at Mineral Wells a staff of able physicians, under whose advice the proper course of treatment is taken. The expenses of a patient for 

80 



Board and lodging ; jl2.00 to $40.00 

Attendance at bath" .' : : ^-^O ^o 10.00 

MeScineT' '"' 1 ". ! ! '. i l l '. 10.00 to 30:00 

ivieaicmes _1X)0 to ^.00 f -■^ 

^°'''' Jt26.00 to S90.00 

Texas'^&^pi'p'ifin^R^ir?^ '^f\^^ easily reached by any line of railway, connecting with the ^ 
UnUed States ^^''^^y^ ^"^ through tickets to Mineral Wells can be had anywhere in the ' 

»r ««r »r »r ,r »r 

STEPHENS COUNTY, TEXAS, in most of its topographical features, this county resembles 

the adjoining county of Palo Pinto. It has about the^ame elevation above sea levertle 
same annual rainfa 1, the same proportion of timber and prairie land, and the same agrcultura ^ 
resources. It was formerly part of Bosque County, and wa.s organized in 1890 a^BuSanan Countv 
being changed to Stephens County, in 1861. In 1890, it had^4,725 inlabitants o^whom 46^^^^^^^^ 
inhabitants of Breckenndge, the county seat. 225 of Gunsight, and 85 of Caddo thrXr trading 
points m the county. The principal business of the population is farmrng and slock raistngthe I 
being about /OO farms in the county, a number of them being operated as stock farSs^'^bout 
25,000 acres are m cultivation, producing, annually, about 2,500 bales ^toci. larms. About 

of cotton 1,500 tons of cotton seed, 50,000 bushels of corn, 40 000 
bushels of wheat, and about 40,000 bushels of oats, as well as laree 
quantities of sorghum for forage. The crop varies in value from 
^150,000 to J200,000. The live stock interest, ?n proportion lo popu 
lation IS large there being in the county, in 1897, 8,784 head of horses 
and mules, valued at $126,646; 24,081 head of cattle, valued atSl97 372- 
if 'fks and lennets, valued at $4,679; 3,033 sheep and goats, valued at 
* '^"^^Lf"*^ '^•^^^ ^°SS. valued at $4,254, the total value being $335 872 
The several tributaries of the Brazos River, flowing through the 
county, furnish most of the stock water required. Some of them cease 
to flow part of the year, but water is always found in the deep holes 
in their beds Farm and ranch tanks and storage resen'oirs are quite 
numerous. There are some good springs scattered through the county 
but for household uses water of excellent quality is obtained from wells 




Views in Mineral Wells. 



Howard Residence. 

2. Res. of Dr. Blackburn. 

3. Sangara Mineral Wells 

4. Oak Street. 





CATTLE RANCH, STEPHENS COUNTY. 



varying in depth from 15 to 60 feet. 
A large part of the county is suitable 
for cultivation, there being about the 
same diversity of soils as in the 
adjoining counties. Nearly the whole 
area is covered with mesquite grass, 
the most nutritious of the native 
grasses. Stock feed on it all year 
round, and where the land is not 
over- pastured, cattle remain fat and 
keep in good condition all winter. 

Coal exists in several places near 
the line of the Texas & Pacific Rail- 
way, which crosses the southeast 
corner for a distance of 5i'o miles. 
Hematite and magnetic iron ore have 
been found in large quantities in the 
northern part of the county. Traces 
of copper have been found in several 



places, and near the coal fields are strong indications of the presence of peU^^^^^ ^1/^15%"; Tc'^e^ 

Eirr^oX^^^dit t:^'"^.J'o:^i;'^^^^^^o^^o!^ fm;io*ys lo teachers, and has about 1,600 youngsters 
°' "'^Thfasse'ssed values of taxable property in 1897, amounted to $2,472,845, of which $1,923,986 was assessed against lands and town 
property, $50,745 against railroads, and $335,872 against live stock. 

»r »r »r MT HT »r 

ERATH COUNTY, TEXAS. This is a wide-awake, progressive county, ^y^-^^^^^^, PiXcouVty' it?phetille"'thfcS 
^ the Texas Central Railwav, and the Brazos River. Its north boundary is 'f;'?^^.^^ ^^^'^f^'^^^e" h part of Bosque and Coryell 
seat, is about 65 miles southwest of Fort Worth The county was ^J- -^ ^ 1856^^^ .^^^^^^^q ^.^^^ ^^^_ 

Counties, its area being 1,042 square miles. In 1890, it had 21.594 mhabitants ^^><^« j^^ ^„„„tv from the north. The 

short branch of the Texas & Pacific Railway, f.^te'^-l'^S^.from Thurber Junct on ^ Ihurter e ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^ .^ ^ ^^^^^_ 

Texas Central Railwav passes through the southern portion, =>'d the Fort \\orth&^^Kioi_,ranae y 

wtsterlv direction. Th^e entire railway niileage in ^1- county is 68 %^,^s^^.^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^_ ^ 

The county is within the true coal formation, and coal ^nd indications ot coal are '" ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ clustered around 

mining camp, 4 miles south of the Texas & Pacific Railway, is the largest coa^^^^^^^^ ^.^^ ^^^ ^^^.^ ^^^ 4 000 

the original shaft, from which coal was mined at the \f <^Pt'°" "j t^*; ^^^fJ^^^/J^^CoTo^^ The company has eight mines in 

inhabitants, of whom 1,200 are employed m some capacity by the Texas «. Pacihc <.oai >.ompa y 

82 



operation, all fitted out with modern appliances for quick and effective work. All the mines are lighted by electricity, the coal cars 
under ground being moved by the same medium. Abov^ ground electricity is applied wherever practicable. The largest brick yards in 
the State are also carried on here, the daily capacity being over 150,000 bricks per day. The clay used is the best in the State, and the 
brick turned out are equal to the best produced anywhere in the country. The people of the town are thrifty, and are comfortably 
housed. The town is not incorporated, being on lands of the coal company, but has all the conveniences common to a larger place. 
It has water works, an ice plant, electric plant, a theatre, public library, a club house, an orchestra, a high-class weekly journal, a 
small packery, several good hotels, a large bakery, a dairy in all respects up-to-date, a cotton gin, flour mill, church buildings of the 
various denominations, school buildings, lodge rooms for the several benevolent orders, large store houses, and, in short, every 
convenience a community of 4,000 people could find practical use for. When working up to their full capacity, the mines can export 
3,000 tons of coal per day, and the coal supply in the vicinity of Thurber alone is sufficient to last a good many years. 

Mineral springs and wells are numerous in the county, and for those at Duffau and Hico, special merits are claimed as curative 
waters. They are highly recommended for the treatment of diseases of the liver, for general debility and chronic disorders of various 
kinds. The waters from the artesian well at Thurber are similar in analysis to those of Carlsbad in Germany, and Bath in England. 
They are recommended for the treatment of disease of the liver, such as sluggishness, catarrh and jaundice, catarrh of the intestines, 
causing chronic diarrhea, catarrh of the stomach, chronic con- 
stipation, anaemia, skin diseases, gout and rheumatism, weak eyes 
and inflamed eyelids. In most of these diseases the water should 
be used as a bath as well as to drink it, but in all cases the advice 
of a physician is necessary. 

Away from the mining district, the population is essentially 
a farming community. There are about 2,500 farms in the 
county, comprising, in general crops, about 125,000 acres. About 
12,000 bales of cotton, 300,000 bushels of corn, 40,000 bushels of 
wheat, 200,000 bushels of oats, 3,000 bushels of Irish and sweet 
potatoes, 2,000 tons of hay, and 7,000 tons of cotton seed are 
annually produced; the orchard and garden products grown on 
about 2,000 acres, are valued at about |75,000, the entire annual 
crop of the county ranging in value between ;f75O,O0O and f800,000. 
Stock raising, while being an important and profitable business in 
this county, receives much attention, but is secondary to, and 
frequently part of, ordinary farming operations. There is much 
improved stock here, and the improvement is carried on from year 
to year. In 1897, according to the tax rolls, there were in the 
county, 16,918 head of horses and mules, valued at $319,531; head 
of cattle 24,977, valued at $162,737; head of jacks and jennets 128, 
valued at|7,390; head of sheep and goats 5,896, valued at |3,028; 
and head of hogs 12,031, valued at $13,553; the value of the whole 
being $506,239. The average taxable value of land in the county 
is $4.58 per acre, and improved lands are generally sold at prices 

83 





ranging from $6 to $20 per acre. Unimproved lands can 
be generally had for $2 to $8 per acre. The assessed 
value of all property in the county in 1897, was 
fS, 010, 496, of which $2,977,543 was assessed against 
lands, $428,668 against town property, $506,239 against 
live stock, and $309,988 against railroads. The number 
of pupils enrolled is over 5,000, and the value of school 
property outside of the towns is about $25,000; 96 school 
houses are maintained b)' the county, and 115 teachers 
are employed. 

Stephenville, is the county seat, and has about 
1,200 inhabitants. Dublin, at the junction of the Texas 
Central, and Fort Worth, and Rio Grande Railways, is 
an important trading point, and has about 2,500 inhabi- 
tants. Thurber, on the Texas & Pacific Railway, is the 
shipping point for the coal mines and county, and has 
4,000 inhabitants. The other towns, Alexander, popu- 
lation 300; Bluffdale, population 200; Chalk Mountain, 
population 200; are considered good business points, 
and handle cotton, live stock, corn, wheat, oats, 
sorghum, wool, hides, flour, and other products of the 
rountv. The mercantile and manufacturing establish- 
ments in the county, outside of Thurber, consist of 1 
bank, opera house, roller mills, cotton gins, cotton 
compress, street railway, electric light plant, water 
works, ice factor}', candy factor}', broom factory, 6 
churches, etc., at Dublin; a steam roller mill, cotton 
gins, 4 or 5 churches, etc., at Alexander; steam flour 
mills, cotton gins, health resort, hotel and 4 churches 
at Duffau; 6 churches, 2 banks, 2 first-class hotels, a handsome court house, a flouring mill, cotton gins and newspapers at Stephenville. 



SHEEP RANCH. ER.ATH COUNTY. 



»r «F »r *■ »r «r 



gASTLAND COUNTY, TEXAS. This county was created in 1858 from parts of Coryell and Bosque Counties, and -n'as organized in 
1873. It was named in honor of Captain W'm. M. Eastland, who was murdered while a prisoner in Mexico. The area of the county 
is 909 square miles, and the population, in 1890, was 10,373, to which 30 per cent might now safely be added. Like in the adjoining 
counties, much of the surface of the county is broken and hilly, there being a diversity of soils, the chocolate colored loams, however, 
predominating. About two-thirds of the surface is timbered, there being large areas of post oak on the uplands, cedar in the broken 
lands, elm, pecan, Cottonwood, etc., along the streams, and mesquite timber on the flat tablelands. The Leon River and its numerous 

84 



tributaries perform the drainage of the county, are running streams about half of the year, and carry water in holes in their beds 
sufficient for stock raising. For domestic use an abun'dance of freestone water is obtained from springs and wells, the latter varying 
in depth from 30 to 45 feet. The annual rainfall is 27 inches, generally well distributed throughout the growing season. The county 
is in every respect healthful, there being no stagnant waters or other causes for disease. The atmosphere is dry and bracing. The 
temperature ranges in summer from 75 to 95 degrees, and in winter from 20 to 60 degrees. 

The principal occupations of 
the people are general farming, 
raising cattle for beef, and wool 
growing. There are about 1 ,500 farms 
in the county, not counting enclosed 
lands especially devoted to pasturage. 
The 65,000 or 70,000 acres in culti- 
vation produce, annualh', about 5,000 
bales of cotton, and 3,000 tons of 
cotton seed, 150,000 bushels of corn, 
30,000 bushels of wheat, 75,000 to 
85,000 bushels of oats, 3,500 bushels 
of Irish and sweet potatoes, 1,000 
tons of sorghum cane, and about 
1,000 bushels of pecans, the crops 
varying with the season, price and 
condition of the market. Including 
the product of some 1,500 acres 
devoted to fruit growing and garden- 
ing, valued at say $10,000, the general 
crops of the countv may be estimated 
as worth from $300,000 to $350,000. 

Much of the county lies in the 
coal measures, and coal of good 
quality has been found, the same 
being mined in a small way. In time 
more extensive enterprises in mining 
may be undertaken. Good building 
stone is found in quite a number of 
places, also indications of iron ore 
and copper. Good brick and tile 
clays occur in many localities, hut 
none have been, to any extent, 
developed. 




The live stock interest in the county is an important one, and in 1897, there were rendered for taxation 10,713 head of horses and 
mules, the same valued at $187,501; also 18,338 head of cattle, valued at |112,598; 129 head of jacks and jennets, valued at f5,586; 472 
head of sheep and goats, valued at |268; and 6,805 hogs, valued at $8,736; the value of the entire live stock in the county being $314,689. 

The county has 69 miles of railway, the Texas & Pacific Railway traversing the county from east to west, and the Texas Central 
Railway passing through it from southeast to northwest. At the crossing of the two railways is the town of Cisco, a lively trading point 
of about 2,000 inhabitants. Its principal exports are cattle, wool, hides, small grain, cotton, and other products of the county. About 
10 miles east is Eastland, the county seat, a well-built town of about 1,000 inhabitants. This town and Ranger, population 700, are on 
the Texas & Pacific Railway. Desdimonia, population 500, and Jewell, population 250, are the other trading points in the county. 

The taxable valuation for the county in 1897, amounted to $3,425,819, of which $2,313,864 were assessed against lands and town 
property, $314,689 against live stock, and $442,189 against railroads. 58 public schools are maintained, and 69 teachers are employed. The 
number of pupils enrolled is 2,708. Improved lands in the county are generally on sale at $5 to $20 per acre; unimproved farm lands at 
$2.50 to $5, and lands suitable for pasturage only, perhaps cheaper. The crops obtained, per acre, one year with another, are about the 
same as in the counties heretofore described. 



QALLAHAN county, TEXAS, was named in honor of Captain James Callahan, one of the survivors of 
the massacre of Fannin's command, at Goliad, and serves as an enduring monument to his memory. 
-*^^ There were a few stock raisers in the county as early as 1860, but, being continuously exposed 
^ ^^ to the depredations of the Indians, these pioneers were compelled to 

f^ __,^ retire, and no permanent settlement was effected until 1874. The county 
was set apart in 1858, and was organized in 1877. It is situated near the 

geographical center of the State, has an area 
of 900 square miles, and, in 1890, it had 5,457 
inhabitants, of whom about 1,200 are residents 
of Baird, the county seat, 500 of Putnam, a 
station on the Texas & Pacific Railway, and 
100 each of Cottonwood, Belle Plain, and 
Cross Plains. Since 1890, there has been a 
considerable increase of population in the 
count}', probably 30 per cent. 

The surface of the county presents 
considerable diversity in the soils and 
topographical features. The eastern half has 
some of the characteristics of the coal region, 
while along the western boundary the general 
appearance is that of the "Plains Region," 
lying further west. The ' ' divide ' ' or water- 
shed between the waters of the Brazos and 
of the Colorado Rivers runs through the 




center of the county, from northwest to southeast, the highest elevations being 2,100 feet above tidewater. From this "divide" rise 
innumerable small water -courses, flowing northeast and southwest into one or the other of the rivers. The " divide " is also the line 
of separation of the post oak forests, " Upper Cross Tiinbers " from the prairie lands, which are, in places, covered with a scant growth 
of mesquite trees. The " Upper Cross Timbers " afford an abundant supply of post oak, fuel and some fencing. In the more broken 
parts of the " divide " are large cedar brakes, with trees of sufficient diameter to make fence posts. 

About one-half of the area of the county is arable, the remainder affording good pasturage. The prevailing grass is the mesquite, 
which cures on the ground during August and September, and furnishes good stock food during the entire winter. The raising of cattle is 
carried on to a large extent, as a distinct 
business, the prime object being to 
produce beef rather than dairy 
products. Cattle are generally raised 
on the open range, milk and farm 
stock only being regularly housed 
and fed. In 1897, there were in the 
countv 10,055 horses and mules, 
valued at $130,061; 26,731 head of 
cattle, valued at f275,2S5; 86 jacks 
and jennets, valued at |3,042; 222 
sheep and goats, valued at $195; and 
2,884 hogs, valued at $4,024; the 
value of the entire live stock being 
$412,607. 

The soils are of considerable 
variety, each of which is credited 
with certain advantages. The annual 
rainfall varies from 20 to 30 inches, 
and generally is timely, and suf- 
ficient to mature fairly good crops. 
Occasionally small grain crops are 
reduced in yield by lack of sufficient 
rain in March and April, but this 
is unusual. The highest summer 
temperature obser\-ed has been 106 
degrees, and the lowest 4 degrees 
below zero; these extremes occurring 
rarely oftener than once in ten years. 

The average yield of crops is 
of corn, 20 to 30 bushels per acre; 
wheat, 12 to 15 bushels per acre; 

87 




sweet potatoes, 100 bushels; sorghum syrup, 125 gallons; sorghum hay, about 4 tons. During exceptionally favorable seasons, from 90 
to 120 bushels of oats, and 45 bushels of wheat have been made per acre. The number of farms devoted entirelj' to agricultural pursuits 
is about 500, comprising about 25,000 acres. The annual product is about 2,500 bales of cotton, 50,000 bushels of corn, 25,000 bushels of 
wheat, 50,000 bushels of oats; sorghum hay is grown extensively. The whole crop, including about $7,000 in garden and orchard 
products, can be valued at about $200,000. 

Improved lands range in price from $5 to $15 per acre, and unimproved lands can generally be had at $2 to |S per acre. The 
school population of the county numbers about 1,500, for whom the county employs 39 teachers, and maintains 37 school houses. ■ The 
assessed value of property in the county is 12,594,914, of which $1,771,274 is assessed against real estate, $294,944 against railway 
mileage, and $412,607 against live stock. 

There are several mineral wells, the waters of which are locally esteemed for the cure of scrofulous .and cancerous diseases. The 
best known of these are at Putnam, a station on the Texas & Pacific Railway, and at Pecan, a small village south of the railway. 

Baird is the principal town and county seat. It has 1,200 inhabitants, and is the division terminus of the Texas & Pacific 
Railway. Among its institutions are the railway repair shops, 2 hotels, a bank, a flour mill, several cotton gins, some 36 mercantile 
establishments, and a county newspaper. Most of the business buildings are constructed of limestone or sandstone, which is abundant 
in the neighborhood. 




88 



Lands, P^rices cAnd Terms of Sale. 

ANYONE who has read the foregoing pages can not fail to have observed that a newcomer in Texas can not well go amiss in his 
search for a suitable abiding place, though only a part of the State has been described. Those who should go to Texas are: 

1. People who wish to engage in farming. 4. People who seek an improvement in health and who may 

2. People wishing to engage in manufacturing enterprises. be benefited, either through climatic influences or by the 

3. People who wish to engage in stock raising. use of the mineral waters, in which the State abounds. 

Of these, the visiting farmers and stock raisers are prospective land buyers. Such as prefer the woodlands of Eastern Texas, 
can purchase lands more or less improved, at prices ranging from $5 to $20 per acre. The present owners generally being willing to 
sell for part cash, a reasonable limit of time being allowed for deferred pavments. Unimproved lands can be had for $Z to $5 per acre, 
from private owners. If there are State school lands, not valuable for their timber, they can be had at $2 per acre, on a 40 years' 
credit, the purchaser paying 5 per cent interest per annum on the deferred payments. In the Red River and Black Land Comities, 
improved lands are sold at prices ranging from $10 per acre to $40 per acre, according to location, quality and improvements. They 
are all private lands and terms are as agreed upon between buver and seller. Unimproved lands sell from $5 to $20 per acre, and lie 
in the neighborhood of highly improved localities. Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers, there is a greater diversity m the soils, 
and lands can be divided into agricultural and pasture lands. Improved farm lands are valued at $5 to $20; unimproved at $2 to $5. 
The improved lands are private holdings, and the terms of sale according to mutual agreement. The unimproved lands may be 
property of the State school fund, and these are sold at $1 to $2 per acre, on a 40 years' credit. If part of railway grants, generally at 
$2 50 to $3.50 per acre, on 5 and 10 years' credit, the annual interest being 6 per cent. Grazing lands, when suitable for no other 
purpose, will vary in price from $1 to $3 per acre, according to location, quantity and water supply. Much of the grazing land can be leased 
for a term of years, the annual rental being about $25 to $30 per section of 640 acres, but this rate of rental applies more particularly 
to State school and railway grant lands in the remote western counties, and the leases are granted for grazing only. The renting of 
improved farm lands is a different proposition. In the more densely settled counties of Eastern, Northern and Central Texas, there is 
a large amount of improved land for rent each vear. In some cases,' a money rental, varying from $Z to $5 per acre, is exacted, but 
generally, where the landlord furnishes the land and improvements only, and the tenant the teams, tools, seeds and provisions, the 
landlord receives from one-fourth to one-third of the crop and the tenant has the remainder. Where the landlord furnishes everything 
necessary to the making of a crop, except the provisions for the family of the tenant, the crop is usually divided between the parties. 
Such leases are generally made each year between August and October, possession usually being given to the new tenant on or about 
January 1st. Thousands of men in Texas, who are now independent, have secured their first foothold in the State in this way, and are 
now the owners of fine farms. Of course, it is more profitable for a man to buy land outright, if he has the means, and work his own 
farm, but in the absence of the necessary capital, the system of renting land for a share of the crop is an undoubted benefit to the 
new beginner. . , , j i 

On the irrigated lands of the Pecos Valley of Texas and New Mexico, and of the Rio Grande Valley, prices for lands vary from 
$15 to $50 per acre. With the purchase price of the land goes a perpetual water-right. An elaborate system of canals and ditches, 
comprising probably 2,000 miles, has been built by the several companies, and water is carried to every farm owning a water-right. 



Usually, the lands are sold on 5 and 10 years' credit terms, the annual interest amounting to 6 per cent on the deferred payments. 
Irrigation canals, like any other improvement made by human hands, are liable to deterioration, and must be constantly kept in repair 
and be cleaned from time to time of water plants growing in them. The water must be delivered promptly to the farmers as they call 
for it, and men must be employed to attend to this. For this service, all irrigation companies charge an annual water rental, or water 
tax, varving from $1.00 to $1.50 per acre. Where a canrl is owned by the farmers themselves, they must do the repair work and 
employ someone to distribute the water for them. 

Outside of the irrigated areas, the land is suitable for grazing only. In Texas, it can be purchased and leased under the Texas 
State laws, where the lands are property of the State, or of the State school fund. Lands belonging to railroad grants are usually sold 
on 5 and 10 years' time, and can also be leased for grazing. These grazing lands are valued at $1 to |3 per acre. In New Mexico, 
along the Pecos River, all unappropriated lands are property of the United States Government, and can be acquire<l under the several 
land laws relating to homesteads, pre-emption, irrigation, etc. Information regarding Texas State and school lands can be had by- 
addressing The State Land Commissioner, Austin, Texas; and in regard to the lands formerly embraced in the Land Grant of the 
Texas & Pacific Railway Co. (but now owned by Canda, Drake and Strauss), by addressing W. H. Abrams, their General Agent, 
in Dallas, Texas. 

The remaining unsold lands of this Land Grant are situated in the following named counties in the quantities mentioned: 
Bowie, 13,095 acres; Red River, 4,377; Lamar, 24; Denton, 416; Rains, 2,435; Van Zandt, 1,334; Parker, 7SI; Collin, 17; Wise, 122; 
Palo Pinto, 11, 70S; Stephens, 11,613; Callahan, 9,733; Shackelford, 1,335; Jones, 12,423; Tavlor, 25,850; Nolan, 38,345; Fisher, 
9,914; Mitchell, 48,012; Howard, 95.727; Scurry, 316: Martin, 64,071; Midland, 212,044; Edwards, 11,520; Dimmitt, 4,893; Tom 
Green, 51,673; Borden, 6,402; Kent, 2,096; Dawson, 56,947; Coke, 7,219; Irion, 2,240; Sterling, 28,898; Glasscock, 188,308; Crane, 
13,067; Upton, 90,016; Ector, 200,934; Winkler, 11,947; Andrews, 18,613; Loving, 95,680; Reeves, 308,358; Pecos, 124,063; Jeff 
Davis, 155,793; Presidio, 165,151; Brewster, 20,640; El Paso, 1,124,592. 



'-^•vjjji 





Lands under Cultivation and Pasturage. 

Grazing and Farming by Irrigation. 

Stociv Farming, Mixed Farming, Ipss tiian 50.000 acres 
cultivated in County. 



1 \ coon Ey«..n(ii. F «K»IJlli.i!Li" » 1 V rT~~ - "i 



Between 50,000 and 150,000 ."^lu— (i rrT.-TTSl fN. 1. i TVJ^' > i Z"^""' T" i"i^V'^^^^l^^^^ ^^Al^+H 

acres in cultivation in LCv^^r""4"' Vjj « o ' - -JVA'4l'°>' I"' J""' « ,; , i j"»"'"s^ «.; -'•'h'^ffrfP- 

County. rp^lllLy^"" rH^.£:"l?.Q!^l-i^ !,"»«— ^fe-"'-f!'"'?i^l;Mi's'il';^'.'^- 






:h[li 4x L a N 



j^ / V « "^■'^ «a„.. -v^"-^"^ »« \™*— -\~. s «"««i'-""'v! 



Li''^^"^-'-,»r^" " 'j " " ° " 1 " VrroHT'PsKS'" j ° Between 150,000 and 250,000 acres in cultiration in County. 



Irrigation Canals and Wells. 







Distribution of Hogs in 
Texas, 1897. 

Less than 6,0U0 head In County. 

Between 6,UU0 and 20,U0(I head in 
County. 

Between 20,000 and 30,000 head in 
County. 

Between 30,000 and 50,000 head In 
County. 




Distribution of Siieep 
in Texas, 1897. 

Less than 10,000 head in County. 

Betireen 10,000 and 25,000 head in 

County. 
Between -25,000 and 40,000 head in 

County. 
Between 40,000 and 50,000 head in 

County. 







« D E "Is C at « ([flsiTE «|""" IJ'i^isairr^"'' J^W^ 'j' ■ " ■ " I \_fc,^0^9M-^i<r-f— '^^p -:"..-°'| ,,5.,,',' pSS£/>l 






Map No. 3. 



Stock ^aisisn:g in Texas. 



*HE pasture grasses of Texas consist of some 70 or 80 varieties, of which the curly, barbed and running mesquite, gramma and 
black gramma, wild oats, wild rye, sedge, bluesteni, buffalo, bunch, crowfoot, and a dozen other varieties, are most common. 
Among these are a number which make excellent hay, and several, such as Colorado .grass, rescue grass, wild rye, etc., are 




CATTLE RANCH, WESTERN TEXAS. 



now cultivated. It was thought, for a time, that northern grasses could be grown for hay to advantage, but it was found that the 
grasses best suited for meadows in Texas were already here, vastlv superior, for summer and winter grazing and for hay, to any that can 
be brought from other and colder climates, almost any piece of land, properly fenced, to keep out stock, for two or three years, will 

91 



show itself to be stocked with a dozen species of good grass for hay; it will, in fact, be a fine meadow. Wild hay, cut from the 
prairies, usually j'ields from ?4 to I'o tons per acre, and sells at from $5 to flO per ton. 

The cultivated forage crops consist in the main of sorghum, yielding from 3 to 12 tons of hay; millet, cutting IJ^ to 3 tons; rye 
and barley, cutting lis to 2 tons; Dhurra, Johnson grass and alfalfa. The last named is grown extensively in the irrigated regions, 
where it is used as a winter pasture and in summer is cut for hay. It j'ields from 5 to 8 tons per acre per annum, and is considered by 
those familiar with its uses, to be far superior to any other known hay. In eastern Texas, Bermuda grass has been planted extensively 
and affords excellent pasturage. Wild Japan clover, an intruder arriving within the past 20 years, is also prized as a valuable forage. 
Along the watercourses and in the lowlands is a growth of switch cane, which goes a long way when other green forage is scarce. 

In the western counties, where the altitude is over 2,000 feet, the native grasses cure on the ground and are equivalent, 
■during the winter months, to the best hay, and, in midwinter, cattle are generally in better condition than at any other time 
of the year. 

The Bureau of Animal Industry recenth' published the following statement in regard to the numbers and values of live stock 
owned in Texas, on January' 1st, 1S9S: 

Average value. Total. Average value. Total. 

Horses 1,148,500 $17 30 $19,866,178 Swine 2,826,302 I 3 14 $ 8,874,588 

Mules 265,349 30 96 8,214,550 Sheep 2,649,914 1 67 4,409,657 

Milch cows . . . 722,476 20 00 14,459,320 Cattle 4,823,295 15 27 73,639,656 

Compared with other States, Texas stands first on cattle, fourth on sheep, third on swine, first on horses and mules, and seventh 
on milch cows. 

The business of raising horses, cattle, sheep, and other live stock, has always been a favorite pursuit of the people of Texas. In 
the olden days, when the central part of Texas was thinly settled and farms were few and far between, and towns and transportation 
still further away, it was about the only business the population could safely engage in. Beyond the Brazos River, the Indians held 
•undisputed sway, and people who valued their hides remained where there was easy communication with friends and neighbors. 
Cattle, of course, strayed beyond the line of safety and in time multiplied and increased, but escaped branding or mark of ownership. 
At a later time, when the Indians had been pushed further West, the settlers followed and took possession of the ownerless herds. A 
good branding iron was about the only capital required for the starting of a herd, and it laid the foundation of many a snug fortune, 
ijp to 1880 there was no apparent necessity for owning pasturage and no outlay for lands. Since then, the farmer has occupied all 
the country east of the Brazos River and has crowded westward beyond the 101st meridian, bringing with him a change in the method 
of raising live stock, as well as new breeds of cattle. Farm cattle, such as milch cows and dairy stock generallj', of the Hereford, 
Jersey, Holstein and Durham breeds, are found on the farms in great numbers, many farms being devoted to the raising of pure bred 
dairy cattle. On the ranges lying between the Colorado River and the Rio Grande, and extending north to the Indian Territory, the 
long-horned, raw-boned, light-weight animals have almost entirely disappeared. Nearly all of the cattle are graded, Hereford and 
Durham blood predominating. The 700-pound steer of 20 years ago has given way to an animal that weighs fmm 1,000 to 1,400 
pounds. In the counties of the plains, west of the Colorado River, stock raising is conducted as a separate and distinct business, and 
is almost the exclusive pursuit of the inhabitants, the prime object being to produce a fine marketable beef. Farming is only 
incidental, the prime object being to produce a few vegetables and fruits for the kitchen and a great deal of forage for the cattle, to 
provide for possible contingencies. The live stock of the plains is expected to find its subsistence on the natural pasturage exclusively, 
and it is only for spells of extra cold weather, or for nursing cattle and ewes, that forage is provided. At the present time, the raising 

92 



of cattle is very profitable and stockmen feel sufficiently encouraged to secure, by purchase or lease, their permanent pastures, to 
provide an ample supply of water, either by means of wells and windmills or by building storage reservoirs. Forage is grown wherever 
possible, and beef cattle are fattened on the range. Where this is impracticable, they are sent to the farms in central Texas and then 
forwarded to the great cities, after being fattened on corn or cotton seed. Above all, though, no opportunity is neglected to secure 
pure bred bulls of the most valuable breeds, and it is a safe assertion to make that there are now on the Texas ranches more pure bred 
bulls than in any other State. 

The raising of horses and mules is also a great industrj' in the State. In the western counties, the tough little ranch pony, or 
mustang, is yet predominant, but in central and northern Texas the Hamiltonian, Cleveland bay, Norman, Percheron and Clydesdale, 
are no strangers on the farms, and some of the finest racing horses in the United States have been raised on the Black Land farms of 
Dallas, Kaufman, Collin, Tarrant and Grayson Counties. Mules are raised by thousands, are generally large in size and are valuable. 

The raising of sheep and growing of wool are industries more peculiar to western Texas than to the farming region. Texas 
produces more wool than any other State in the Union, except California and Ohio. As the flocks are increasing at the rate of 80 per 
cent, not including the importations, it is only a question of a short time before the State will ship more wool than any other. The 
expense of raising sheep is 30 per cent less than in Ohio, and wool brings the same price for the same quality. Sheep, in Texas, are 
expected to subsist entirely on the open range, both in winter and summer. About the only time in the year when feeding is done is 
when the lamb crop comes in, in spring, and the ewes need green forage to properly nurse their lambs, and this is only occasional. 
Sheep, at present, are worth from $3 to $4 per head. Being generally grazed on the high plains, in a dry atmosphere, there is 
virtually no foot-rot to contend with, and the rigid inspection and frequent dipping all flocks are subjected to, has practically done 
away with the scab disease. The French merino is the preferred wool sheep, Cotswolds and other strains being preferred for mutton. 
Angora and cashmere goats are raised in large numbers and yield a fair profit. 

The hog is confined more particularly to northern, eastern and central Texas. West of the Brazos River, they are comparatively 
few, except in the irrigated regions. In the Woodland counties of eastern Texas, they are quite numerous. While high grade Poland 
Chinas, Chester Whites and Jersey Reds can be found on many farms, the old original razorback, which can outrun a race horse, 
climb a tree, or wriggle through a picket fence, is still a great favorite. He is the lazy man's hog, hustles for himself, and while 
always lean and hungry, costs the owner practically nothing. He runs at large in the woods, and when pork is wanted, he is hunted 
like any other game. In northern and central Texas, where the hogs are confined to the farms, and regularly fed and well taken care 
of, they are, as a rule, of good breed and will compare favorably with those raised in any other State. The preferred breeds are the 
Poland China, Berkshire, Jersey Red and Chester White. A great impetus was given to hog raising in Texas, by the establishment of 
extensive meat packeries in Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as by the increased demands of northern packeries. The various hog 
diseases, so much complained of in the Northern States, seem to be rare in Texas, owing probably to the more active outdoor life of the 
swine, which, owing to the mild climate, can, without damage, be kept in the open air all winter. 

Poultry Raising does not receive the attention in Texas to which it is entitled. While the finer breeds of poultry have been 
introduced on many farms, the old barnyard stock still predominates. On account of the short and mild winters, it is an easy matter, 
with generous treatment, to induce the earl3' hatched pullets to lay all winter, and it is also easy to hatch chickens in winter and get 
them ready for market early. The same will apply to ducks and geese. The raising of poultry is considered a business of minor 
importance and is greatly neglected, though, pound for pound, poultry meat can be raised for less than half the cost of either pork or 
beef, and generally sells at a higher figure. 



WESTE%iNi Texas. 



THE COUNTIES OF THE PLAINS. For the sake of convenience, rather than of geographical accuracy, that part of 
Texas lying north and south of the Texas and Pacific Railway, and west of the 100th meridian, or the west line of the " Upper 

Cross Timbers," is called Western Texas. It is the great stock raising region of Texas, a region of vast grassj' plains, of varying 
altitude, extending from the "Cross Timbers" to the Rio Grande, and from the Indian Territory to the Republic of Mexico. Within 
its confines are the Colorado, the Pecos and Rio Grande Rivers, the largest streams in Texas, and on the two last named rivers are the 
most extensive irrigation works and the greatest irrigated acreage in the United States. From the "Cross Timbers" westward, are 
three tiers of prairie counties, as fertile as any in the State, having hundreds of fine farms and a large agricultural population. Among 
these should be counted Taylor, Jones, Nolan and Mitchell Counties. Beyond these, and lying between the Colorado and the Pecos 
Rivers, are the counties of Howard, Martin, Midland, Ector, and Winkler, devoted exclusively to stock raising. In the Pecos Valley, 
extending northward into New Mexico for 1"5 miles, and southward 50 miles from Pecos City, are great stretches of land provided with 
elaborated systems of canals for irrigation, and in the Rio Grande Valley are similar irrigated areas covering many thousands of acres. 

Western Texas, as seen from the cars of the Texas & Pacific Railway, is a beautiful country. From the "Cross Timbers" to the 
Colorado, and from that stream westward for a distance of 90 miles, is a succession of grass-covered and almost treeless table-lands, 
terminating at the foot of the Great Staked Plain. Their surfaces are generally level, sometimes undulating, and are traversed by 
numerous water-courses and draws, shallow but continuous depressions, resembling old river beds and leading to running streams. At 
times they carry immense bodies of water, and again, for months the cattle fatten on the rank growth of grass growing in their beds. 

The eastern and southern edges of these table-lands, which, at intervals of 10 to 15 miles, rise abruptly to higher levels, appear 
from a distance as bold, almost perpendicular bluffs, a few hundred feet in height, apparently perfectly smooth on top, and reminding 
one of immense fortifications. The last abrupt rise in level is the edge of the Staked Plain, 56 miles west of the Colorado River. Where 
crossed by the Texas & Pacific Railway, it has a width of about 65 miles; north of the railway it widens out like the leaves of a fan and 
is merged into the Panhandle. Its southern, eastern and western outlines are well defined, its edges consisting of rocky bluffs extending 
in a semi-circle for hundreds of miles. Once on top, its general appearance is that of a boundless ocean of grass, meeting the horizon 
in every direction. 

From its base issue all the important rivers of Texas, except the Pecos and the Rio Grande, and on its surface are hundreds of 
river and creek beds, draws and depressions, which, further east and south, become flowing streams. After heavy rains, usually in 
May, June, July and August, nearly all its water-courses are running streams and its thousands of small lake beds are full to over- 
flowing; but most of them are dry one-half of the year, as the porous soils of the Plain absorb immense quantities of water. Under 
the Plain are vast bodies of water, reached almost anywhere at a depth of 10 to 60 feet. 

From the eastern border of the State to the Great Staked Plain, there has been a constant increase in altitude. At the railway 
crossing, at Brazos River, the country lies 750 feet above sea-level; at Strawn, in Palo Pinto County, 900 feet; at Cisco, in Eastland 
County, 1,625 feet; at Baird, in Callahan County, 1,700 feet: at Merkel, in Taylor County, I.S75 feet;" at Sweetwater, in Nolan County, 
2,175 feet; at Colorado River crossing, 2,075 feet; at Big Spring, in Howard County, 2,400 feet. As far as this point, the changes in 
elevation are abrupt, each change, in a measure, indicating the level of a plateau The Staked Plain is now reached and the increase 
in elevation is more gradual. At Stanton, in Martin County, it is 2,700 feet; at Midland, in Midland County, 2,780 feet; at Odessa, in 
Ector County, 2,900 feet, and at Douro, on the western edge of the Great Plain, 3,100 feet. 



Westward, beyond the Great Staked Plain, and more than 500 feet lower, is the broad valley of the Pecos, extending from its 
bold western bluffs far beyond Toyaji, a distance of over 60 miles. Standing on the rocky bluffs, through which the railway winds its 
way, by numerous turns, curves and twists, to the Rio -Pecos, one can obtain a full view of a vast expanse of grass covered country, 
extending westward to the Davis and Guadaloupe Mountains, 70 and 90 miles away, and j-et plainly visible. Near the western base of 
the Plain maj' be seen the white sand hills, glistening in the sun, a truly remarkable body of land, from 5 to 10 miles in width and 
40 miles in length. It is a body of white quartz sand, rising into thousands of hills and ridges, from 10 to 25 feet high. Like the 
sand dunes of the Sahara, they are movable, ^lifting from place to place, where not held fast by the luxuriant vegetation. In the 
depressions between the hills are hundreds of lakes of the clearest and purest water in Texas, generally surrounded and protected by a 
growth of small willows, the tule grass, or cat-tail reed, of our northern water-courses. Large stretches are covered with a growth of 
dwarf oaks, mingled with luxuriant grasses, .which afford most excellent pasturage. In these sand hills, game is still abundant, and 
blacktail and Virginia deer, antelope, peccaries, an occasional bear, wolves, coyotes, rabbits, quail and waterfowl, can be found by the 
sportsman who seeks them. In the bottom of this great valley, close to the Pecos River, and extending north and south for 200 miles, is 
a vast system of irrigation canals, supplj-ing thousands of acres in a high state of tillage. At Pecos City, on Pecos River, the altitude 
above sea-level is 2,590 feet; 90 miles up stream, at Eddy, in New Mexico, it is 3,100 feet, and at Roswell, 75 miles further, it is 3,900 feet. 
Westward, beyond the Pecos River, the altitude rises rapidly, and long before the western extremity of the State has been reached, the 
railway has traversed the southeastern spurs of the Rocky Mountains, which here occur in detached mountain chains, rising abruptly 
from the great elevated tablelands. At Toyah, 20 miles west of Pecos Cit\-, the elevation above tidewater is 2,975 feet; at Antelope 
Station, 4,320 feet; at Carrizo Pass, 4,610 feet; at Sierra Blauca, 4,700, with mountains in sight, towering from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. 
From Sierra Blanca westward is a rapid descent to the Rio Grande Valley, with its orchards and farms, until El Paso, which lies 3,717 
feet above tidewater, is reached. 

»r »r «sr MT str »r 

THE SOILS OF WESTERN TEXAS, a more beautiful landscape than that of the plains of western Texas, can not be found 
anvwhere. This country is not monotonous, foritis diversified at almost regular intervals by lines of abrupt bluffs, rising almost 

perpendicularly from the Plain, by broad and shallow valleys, through the center of which runs a water-course, fringed by a 
narrow border of dense timber. It is not absolutely level anywhere, but is the best drained country on earth. On the Great Staked 
Plain the vista is almost boundless. Turn which way you will and you fancy yourself in the bottom of a basin many miles in 
diameter. The horizon always appears higher than the point of observation. In front, behind, at each side, a vast ocean of grass, 
extending in an unbroken sod for hundreds of miles, and during the month of May a carpet of flowers of every hue and a hundred 
varieties. Under foot, the richest soil the sunshines on, and above, the purest atmosphere a man can breathe. The soil is an alluvial, 
without being a river bottom, and freshets and floods are unknown. Its red, chocolate and black loams are mixed with sand, to such 
proportion that the rainfall is quickly absorbed, and the muddy road, the bane of Eastern agricultural regions, is utterly unknown. 
The composition and porosity of the soil enables it to respond with almost magical quickness to the ra^-s of the sun and the life-giving 
showers. It varies in depth from I foot to 50, and appears uniform in quality down to the water-bearing lime-rock beneath it. 

The onlv drawback to agricultural pursuits in this splendid region is the scant and irregular rainfall peculiar to some parts of it. 
Between the Brazos River and the Colorado River, in which range are included the counties of Taylor, Nolan, Jones and Mitchell, the 
rainfall is sufficient for profitable agriculture, the average annual precipitation being over 24 inches. West of the Colorado River, the 
altitude increases rapidly, accompanied by a decrease in rainfall. On the Great Staked Plain, the rainfall averages annually 20 inches, 
falling principally in May, June, July, August and September, the winter months being generally very dry. In the Pecos Valley, the 

95 



rainfall is about 17 inches, and in the Rio Grande Valley, about 15 inches. In the mountains, towering 6,000 to 10,000 feet above 
sea-level, the rainfall is nearly 50 inches, and in June, July and August, a shower can be seen from any given point every day. 

West of the Colorado River, the rainfall is ample and sufficient to produce good pasturage, year after year, and to produce all 
the forage that will ever be required. As fine crops of cotton, corn, wheat, sorghum, vegetables, and fruits have been grown on the 
Great Staked Plain, without irrigation, as have been produced anywhere else, but it has been observed that the farmer who had the 
most cattle, horses, or sheep, and availed himself of the magnificent pasturage surrounding his farm, made the most money in 
the long run, and, in fact, every man engaged in stock raising in some form has prospered. The farmer who will come to this section 
prepared to own live stock, in considerable number, such as cattle, horses, mules, sheep, or angora goats, and will confine his farming 
operations to growing forage for his stock, cannot fail of success. The orchard and garden should not be neglected, for the well that 
supplies water for the stock will also supply water for 5 to 10 acres in fruit trees, grapes, and vegetables. The water for irrigation 
will not be needed often, but pays wonderfully well if you have it when you need it. On the plains of western Texas fruits of all 
descriptions yield remarkably. They are handsome, free from blemish of any kind, well flavored, highly colored, and absolutely free 
from insects or fungus ravages. The production of the commercial raisin grape, French prune, and every variety of fruit that can be 
grown in Southern California is easy and certain. The fancy table grapes of California, the raisin grape, pear, nectarine, peach, fig, 
plum, apricot, prune, quince, apples, grow vigorously, mature perfectly, and are found on many of the stock ranches. Orchards in 
these fruits, irrigated from windmills, are quite numerous in the vicinity of the towns of Midland, Stanton, Odessa. Big Springs, and 
Colorado. The climate of this region is a fit companion to the soil. Elevated and open, the pure air from the Gulf of Mexico, and from 
the mountains, sweep over it in gentle currents, ever refreshing, purifying, and cleansing. While persistent, the breezes are neither 
annoying nor inconvenient, except sometimes in March, when they raise more or less dust, these east winds generally lasting from an hour 
or two to 10 or 12 hours, and occurring three or four times during the month. There is nothing about them in the nature of a cyclone, 
and while occasionally annoying they are never dangerous. Owing to the perfect natural drainage of the countrv, there is not an acre 
of stagnant water in all of western Texas, and absolutely no local causes for malarial disease. The best evidence of the general 
healthfulness is in the fact that the annual death rate is only 9-1^ persons per 1,000 population, while the natural increase is 44^- 
persons per 1,000 inhabitants. Of the deaths 20 per cent are the results of consumption and pulmonary trouble, and of these all cases 
are imported. They are usually patients who came too late to be benefited by the otherwise favorable climate. The healthfulness of 
this great upland region is beyond all question. The porous character of the soil, the absence of malaria, the constant movement 
of the air, the hundreds of days of sunshine render it a sanitarium for those afflicted with lung, chest, or throat troubles. Thousands 
of persons have come to this region purely on account of health considerations, and have gained a new lease of life. Contagious 
diseases are of a mild type, and are less often fatal than elsewhere. There are no diseases peculiar to this region, and its death rate is 
the lowest in the world, though the region is visited annually by hundreds of invalids whose ailments are, at the time of their arrival, 
incurable. Water for stock and domestic purposes is found evervwhere in the country east of the Pecos River, and is generally of good 
quality, and available in great abundance. The tributaries of the Colorado and Pecos Rivers afford an abundance of stock water, and 
where this is distant, reservoirs or tanks are constructed by building dams across water-courses. Good water for domestic purposes is 
obtainable in wells at a depth of 20 to 60 feet anywhere east of the Pecos River. West of this river the water supplv has not yet been 
thoroughly explored, but wells are generally deeper, the depth varving with the location. The western slope of the Pecos Valley 
abounds in immense springs which form the head waters of some 10 or 12 of the tributaries of the Pecos River. At Pecos City there 
are 25 to 35 artesian wells from 150 to 250 feet in depth, and a like number are also at Roswell, New Mexico. At both places they are 
used for domestic purposes as well ris fur irrigation. Ordinary wells west of the Pecos River vary in depth from 50 feet to 150'feet, 
good water being generally obtained. 

96 



^AJiMi^G i^ WESTE'Ji^ Texas. 



FARMING operations are carried on in western Texas, almost exclusively, in connection with stock raising, and the principal crops 
grown are the various kinds of forage. This statement applies, however, only to those localities where dependence is placed 
exclusively on the natural rainfall. In the irrigated regions of western Texas, where any kind of crop can be secured with 
absolute certainty, there is great diversity in the products grown. Between the "Cross Timbers" and the Colorado River, in the 
counties of Taylor, Nolan, Mitchell and Jones, the standard field crops of Texas are grown with success and profit, equal to the counties 
lying further east. As to the agricultural possibilities of these prairie counties, it should be said that at the Texas State Fair, the 
county of Taylor was awarded a premium of |500 for having the best and most complete display on the grounds, while competing 
against 18 other counties. The display consisted of wheat of all varieties, flour from Taylor County wheat, oats of all varieties, rye of 
all varieties, barley, buckwheat, sorghum of all varieties, corn, seven different varieties, German millet, Hungarian grass, Colorado 
grass, alfalfa, Johnson grass, broom corn, Milo maize, KafBr corn, Dhurra corn, castor beans, mesquite beans, sumac, peas and beans 
of different varieties, pecans and peanuts, soil of Taylor County, 56 varieties of wild grasses, volunteer grass from farm, hay in bales, 
potter's clay, honey, butter, wines from grapes, jellies and preserves, peaches, pears, plums, wild and doinestic ; apples, nectarines, 
grapes, figs, vegetable oranges, tomatoes, okra, pepper, egg-plant, cotton, native woods, building stone, bricks, lime, 
cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, kershaws, watermelons, cantaloupes, pie melons, gourds, Irish and sweet potatoes, 
lions, fresh vegetables (30 varieties), tobacco, nursery plants, cut flowers, manufactured articles, ladies' handiwork, and 
leather made from native hides, and tanned with mesquite bark, etc. 

This is certainly not a bad showing for a section of country whose principal industry is the raising of live 
stock, but any of the counties within a radius of 75 miles should have made a similar showing. 



»F sSi" »r HT »r *• 




THE COUNTY OF TAYLOR, TEXAS. 

This county was formed from Bexar and 
Travis Counties, in 1858. The boundary 
lines were changed to the present limits in 
1876, and in 1878 it was organized. 
Its area is 900 square miles, and 
in 1890, it had 6,957 inhabitants. 
The population has since then 
greatly increased. The general 
elevation of the county by actual 
measurement is 1,634 feet, though 
the highest of the mountain peaks 
rises 519 feet above the sur- 
rounding plains. The county is 
well watered. Though none of 



THRESHING WHEAT IN WESTERN TEXAS. 



the streams are large, they carry 
water the greater part of the year, 
and all hold water in pools in the 
dryest seasons. In the northern 
part of the county are man)- un- 
failing springs, and wells of good 
water are obtained nearly every- 
where, at a depth of 15 to 35 feet. 
While there is considerable 
variety in the soils, they are, with- 
out exception, fertile, and yield, 
one year with another, about as 
follows: Cotton, from one- half to 
1 bale per acre; wheat, 15 to 35 
bushels; oats, 40 to 100 bushels; 
barley and rye, 30 to 40 bushels; 
corn, 30 to 60 bushels; millet, 
frequently two crops per year, 2 to 
6 tons; sorghnm cane, 3 to 4 tons; 
Colorado grass. 3 to 5 tons; castor 
beans, 50 to 60 bushels; Milo 
maize, 30 to 100 bushels. There 
are about 600 farms in the county, 
comprising about 50.000 acres, and 
producing crops to the value of 
about 1250,000. Fruit, such as 
peaches, pears, grapes, quinces, 
berries, mature to perfection, and 
are of fine flavor. A large plum, of fine flavor, and several varieties of grapes grow wild in sheltered localities. Vegetables are 
successfully grown, and melons attain extraordinary dimensions. The rainfall varies from 20 to 35 inches, most of it being precipitated 
between April and October. Summer crops — such as corn and cotton, sorghum, millet, any kind of forage — can be depended on to yield 
well. The cereals depending on early spring rains occasionally fail, but more frequently yield enormously. 

The pasturage, as a rule, is excellent, consisting of curly mesquite, gramma and sedge grasses, and most live stock is raised on 
the open range, all year round, without other food. The livestock in the county, in 1897, consisted of 8,574 head of horses and mules, 
valued at f 122, 206; 18,242 head of cattle, valued at $148,659; 79 jacks and jennets, valued at $4,480; 6,706 sheep and goats, valued at 
$9,823; and S15 hogs, valued at $871. 

The railway mileage in the county is 31-,\ miles, belonging to the Texas & Pacific Railway, which traverses it from east to west. 
The assessed value of property, in 1897, is given at $4,228,444, of which $1,887,503 is charged to lands, $1,241,854 to town property, 
$262,626 to railroads, and $228,265 to live stock. Improved lands sell at prices ranging from $5 to $15 per acre. Unimproved lands can 




PINE STREET. ABILENE, TEXAS. 



be had at $2 to $5 per acre. The 
county maintains 26 school houses, 
employs 30 teachers, and has 1,081 
pupils. 

Abilene, the county seat, is 
an incorporated city, with 3,500 
inhabitants, surrounded on all 
sides by attractive farms and 
ranches. It is the shipping point 
for a number of counties lying 
north and south of the Texas & 
Pacific Railway, and is 191 miles 
west of Dallas. It was first settled 
in 18S1, and contains a number of 
fine church buildings, one of the 
best high schools in the West, a 
large, elegant public school build- 
ing, a flour mill, grain elevator, 
several good hotels, an ice factory, 

2 cotton gins, 2 corn mills, 3 national banks, water works, and a fire department. I 
brick yards, opera house, and hundreds of attractive residence buildings. The' 
business portion of town is built mainly of brick. The principal exports are cattle, 
wool, cotton and grain. The other towns of importance are Buffalo Gap, population 600; and Merkel, population 400. 




»¥■ »r *■ »r »*■ »r 



^OLAN COUNTY, TEXAS. This county adjoins Taylor County on the west, and Sweetwater, its county seat, is 232 miles west of 
Dallas. Sweetwater, population about 1,500, is an important trading point on the Texas & Pacific Railway, its principal exports 
being cattle, wool, cotton and grain. 

Stock raising is the engrossing pursuit of the population of the county, the cultivation of the standard crops being a secondary 
consideration. Fine crops of cotton, corn, wheat, oats, sweet potatoes, millet and sorghum are grown every year, but the preference is 
usuall}- given to forage crops, such as sorghum, millet, Egvptian corn, Indian corn, Kaffir corn, Milo maize, or any plant which will 
make forage, and can be consumed at home. Garden vegetables yield very well in the summer months, and fruits leave nothing to be 
desired. The county is covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, and cattle and sheep are raised almost entirely on the range. Most 
ranches have small irrigated gardens attached, in which the finest of fruits and vegetables are grown. There are about 250 farms and 
gardens, comprising about 4,000 acres in the county, the product of which is valued at about $30,000. 

The live stock in 1897, consisted of 5,204 head of horses and mules, valued at $59,300; 14,010 head of cattle, valued at $143,581; 
165 jacks and jennets, valued at $4,980; 7,535 sheep and goats, valued at $9,339; and 1,013 hogs, valued at $1,366. 




school population is 500, the number of school houses 10, 
ranging from $2 to $5 per acre. 



and number of teachers employed 12. 



The county was formed from 
Bexar County, in 1876, and named 
in honor of Philip Nolan, the great 
pioneer and scout, who explored 
Texas in 1800. It has an area of 900 
square miles, and was organized in 
1881. The elevation of the county is 
from 2,000 to 2,500 feet above sea 
level. Good water, in wells from 25 
to 40 feet deep, is found in nearly all 
parts of the county except the south - 
central portion, where it is unpala- 
table. 

The assessed values of propertv 
for 1897, are given at Jl, 799, 504, o'f 
which fl, 053, 925 is assessed against 
lands, $98,189 against town pro- 
pertv, f 242, 938 against railroads, and 
1218,566 against live stock. The 
Unimproved lands can be had at prices 



JVJITCHELL COUNTY, TEXAS. This county was organized in 1881, and is situated near the 32d degree of north latitude, and 101 
degrees of west longitude. Colorado, the county seat, is 262 miles west of Dallas, by way of the Texas & Pacific Railway, which 
traverses the county from east to west. The general elevation of the county is about 2,000 feet along the east boundary, and about 2,400 
feet along the west boundary. An abrupt change in the level takes place along the Colorado River, one of the three large rivers in the 
State. This stream flows through the center of the county, its general course being north and south. Like all other counties in the 
vicinity, it has very rich, fertile soils, chocolate colored, red, and black loams prevailing, though there are also areas of black waxy 
soils, and red clays. Johnson grass, millet, sorghum cane, Dhurra, Kaffir corn, are grown for forage year after year. When the ground 
has had a sufficiency of winter rains, Indian corn, oats, barley, cotton, alfalfa, vegetables and fruits are also grown. Stock raising is 
the engrossing business of the people, and all farming operations are made subject to the needs of the stock. 

Irrigation from wells by means of wind-mills and tanks is practiced in a small way on most ranches, and an abundant supply of 
vegetables and fruits is thus secured. The annual rainfall is about 24 inches, and falls principally between April and October. About 
2,000 acres are in cultivation, the remainder of the area being devoted entirely to stock raising. Curly mesquite, buffalo, and gramma 
grass are the prevailing grasses, and where land is fenced and the pasturage preserved for winter use, cattle and sheep will keep as fat 
as on any farm where grain is regularly fed. In the last few years, most stock men have secured permanent ranges, securely fenced 





Views in Colorado City 
AND Vicinity. 

. Texas Salt Company. 
'. Lone Star Salt Company. 
•- Ranch Scene. 

Scene. 

Residence Judge Looney. 
■. Public School. 





STOCK FARM — MITCHELL COUNTY. 



in, and have reduced the herds, replacing them by far better breeds. 
There are more stock raisers and smaller herds, bat, in the aggregate, 
more cattle of greater value in the county. The natural increase, annually, 
is from 50 to 75 per cent. 

The number and value of live stock, in 1897, was as follows: Horses 
and mules 3,362, valued at |49,1S9; cattle 21,236, valued at f215,954; jacks • 
and jennets 9, valued at |650; sheep and goats 16,30^, valued at |16,966; 
hogs 393, valued at |660. About 25,000 sheep are sheared annually, near 
Colorado City, the shipping point, and about 200,000 pounds of wool 

are exported. 

Colorado City is the county 
seat, and the banking point for a 
very large scope of country. It has 
extensive stock yards, and all other 
facilities for the quick and easy 
handling of the thousands of cattle 
that are exported from this point. 
The available banking capital is over 
1250,000. Of the 3,000 inhabitants of 
the county, about 2,000 have their 
residence in Colorado. Nearly all 
business buildings are built of brick, 
along well graded streets. The resi- 
dence portion has many attractive 
private houses, surrounded by trees 
gMv: :cy^^«^^^^^^^^^^H and shrubbery. Church and school 
'VM^KKtKt^^^^^^^^^M buildings are roomy and handsome, 

and the county court house is an 
unusually commodious and well-built 
structure. The most extensive salt 
works in the State are located here. 



and among the local institutions are a fine club house, an electric company, ice factory, gas works, water works, and several smaller 
local enterprises peculiar to a well established town of its age and population. As in the surrounding country, the climate is delightful, 
both in summer and winter, and for people suffering from pulmonary troubles there is a promise of relief, if not cure. The hotel 
accommodations are fairly good, and the charges are moderate. ^^r ^ i • ^tn in-r 

The area of Mitchell County is 900 square miles. The assessed values, for 1897, amounted to fl, 706, 665, of this Ji612,197 was 
assessed against lands, $289,021 against town property, $250,390 against railways, and $283,419 against live stock. 



102 



The Pastoral CousKfriES of Western Texas. 



THE COUNTIES OF HOWARD, MARTIN, MIDLAND, ECTOR AND WINKLER. The general description of the 
Staked Plain contained in the preceding, pages, applies so fully and accurately to each of the above named counties, that a specific 
description of any one of them becomes unnecessary. In all of them, the raising of cattle, horses and sheep is almost the 
exclusive business of the inhabitants. Once or twice during each decade, there is a rush of agricultural homeseekers to these beautiful 

and fertile lands, and new farms 
are opened up. In the run of a 
few years, these new-comers have 
all become stock raisers, or have 
gone to more promising agricul- 
tural districts. The man with 
live stock has prospered ; the man 
depending exclusively on agricul- 
tural operations, has not greath' 
profited thereby. Nearly every 
stock man has some land under 
cultivation, but what farming there 
is, is solely for home consumption. 
Irrigated gardens are very numer-' 
ous, both near the towns and on 
the ranches, and good things to 
eat are found on every ranch table. 

»«r »r »r «r str »r 




SHEEP RANCH — MARTIN COUNTY. 



HOWARD COUNTY. Organized 
in 18S2, and present population 

about 2,500, of whom 1,800 are 
residents of Big Spring, county .seat and division terminus of the Texas & Pacific Railway. The town is 
well built, has many substantial business houses, a national bank, a handsome and commodious court house, 
the railway shops, a good school, a fine large railroad hotel and a good system of waterworks. It is a good 
shipping point for cattle, hides and wool, the exports of the latter commodity frequenth- reaching 1,000,000 
pounds per annum. The county has an area of 900 square miles, nearly all of which is devoted to the 
raising of live stock, the few isolated farms forming an exception to the rule. The altitude is 2,400 feet 

103 



above sea-level at Big Springs, and 2,800 feet at the west line of the county. The property valuations for 1897 amounted to |1, 173,371, 
consisting of real estate valued at $541,104; railways valued at $275,275; 2,743 horses and mules, valued at $33,060; 14,641 head of 
cattle, valued at $146,525; 28 jacks and jennets, valued at $560; 7,000 head of sheep, valued at $8,750, and 480 head of hogs, valued at 
$1,040. About 2,000 acres are in cultivation, producing annually a value of about $15,000. 




VINKYARD IN MIDLAND COUNTY, 



MT sT 9r sr Mr sT 

]y\ARTIN COUNTY lies on the eastern 
edge of the Great Staked Plain, and 
has an average altitude of 2,850 feet above 
tide- water. The area is 900 square miles, 
and the population about 500, all of whom 
are engaged in raising live stock. Fann- 
ing operations are confined almost entirely 
to raising forage for live stock, and the 
acreage in cultivation is limited. There 
are a number of fine irrigated orchards 
and vineyards, as well as truck gardens, 
in the county, but these are generally 
part of larger cattle or sheep ranches. 
Water must be provided for the stock, 
and the wells that furnish the water for 
the stock also furnish such as is needed 
on a 5-acre or 10-acre orchard. The 
general valuations of property in the 
county (1897) amounted to $599,634, of 
which $335,481 was assessed against real 
estate, and $145,120 against live stock, of 
which there were 666 head of horses and 
mules, 13,793 head of cattle, and 750 head 
of sheep. About 30,000 head of sheep 
are sheared annually in' the county yield- 
ing about 200,000 pounds of wool. 

Stanton, the county seat, is the only 
town in the county, and is a station on 
the Texas & Pacific Railway. It has 
about 200 inhabitants, several mercantile 
establishments, 1 public school, with 60 
pupils and 1 teacher, a Catholic theo- 
logical seminary, and a Catholic female 
school of the higher grades. 

104 



jyjIDLAND COUNTY is the most populous county on the Staked Plain. It is traversed by the Texas & Pacific Railway for a distance 
of 26 miles. Its surface presents 900 square mile§ of nearly level grass covered plain. Though devoid of running streams, it is 
one of the best watered counties in the State, most excellent water being found everywhere, at a depth of 20 to 30 feet. Ample use is 
made of this water, and it is doubtful if there is another county in the United States that has so many wells and wind-mills to the 
square mile as has this county. The population is about 2,500, of whom 1,500 reside at the town of Midland, the county seat. As in 
the neighboring counties, stock raising is almost the exclusive business of the inhabitants. Large quantities of forage are grown, but 
these are used entirely at home. Nearly all the pastures in the county are enclosed, and nearly all ranches have orchards and gardens 
attached, the water for irrigating them being derived from wells and wind- 
mills. The county has a fine public school building, in which are employed 
6 teachers, and instruction is given to 303 pupils. The property rendered 
for taxation in 1897 was valued at $1,132,975 and consisted of lands valued 
at $313,773, town property valued at |198,235, railroad property valued at 
$168,032; 1,463 horses and mules, valued at $17,055; 20,548 head of cattle, 
valued at $220,750; 1,500 head of sheep, valued at $1,850, etc. Most of 
the flocks of sheep are grazed in 10 or 15 surrounding counties, and about 
shearing time are brought as near as possible to the shipping points. The 
number of sheep sheared in the county was 77,450, and the quantity of wool 
obtained and exported was 725,300 pounds. 

The town of Midljnd is 340 miles west of Dallas, and is a growing 
commercial center, being the banking and supply depot for an immense scope 
of country. It is second to none in the State as a cattle-shipping point, and 
its wool exports reach over 1,000,000 
pounds per annum. It is the trading 
point and shipping station for all 
the large ranches lying north, south 
and west, for a distance of 150 miles, 
and it has ample banking facilities 
for an enormous business. Its stock 
yards are extensive and well arranged. 
The town is neat in appearance, 
thrifty and well built, carrying with 
it the evidence of permanent invest- 
ment. It has 4 church buildings, a 
commodious school building, a bank, 
3 newspapers, a court house, 2 good, 
roomy hotels, and a large number of 
well established business houses. 
The town covers an area of about a 
square mile, and nearly all residences 

105 





Views in Midland. 



1. Stock Yards, Midland. 



Street Scene, Midland. 



are surrounded by small, but very fine orchards, vineyards and gardens, which are irrigated from a forest of wind-mills and tanks of 
every make and design, there being not less than 400 in daily use on the town-site alone. The fruits and vegetables grown are most 
excellent in quality, and would find a ready sale in any market. Among the fruits are the finest of European table grapes, Asiatic 
plums, pears, apples and peaches. Celer}' and onions, as well as sugar beets, yield splendid results and could be profitably grown. 
The climate is most favorable to the relief and cure of asthma, catarrh, consumption, etc., and Midland is a favorite resort among 
people suffering from these ailments. The hotel accommodations are in every respect good, and the charges moderate. 





MUSCAT RAISIN GRAPES. MIDLAND, TEXAS. 



FRENCH PRUNE ORCHARD, MIDLAND, TEXAS. 



^CTOR COUNTY adjoins Midland County on the west, and lies on the highest part of the Great Staked Plain, where it is crossed by 
the Texas & Pacific Railway. Its altitude above sea-level varies from 2,900 to 3,100 feet, its annual rainfall being from 20 to 24 
inches, sufficient to produce forage in any desired quantity. The raising of live stock is the exclusive business of the inhabitants, who 
number about 500. As in the adjoining counties, forage is grown for home use, and small but fine orchards and gardens are found on 
most ranches. The property valuations for 1897 amounted to $699,575, of which $246,299 was assessed against railway property, 
1310,675 against real estate, and f 120, 840 against live stock, which consisted of 1,034 head of horses and mules, 15,288 head of cattle, 
1,700 head of sheep and 45 head of hogs. 

106 



Odessa, the county seat and only town, has about 200 inhabitants, a school with 42 pupils, a hotel, several mercantile establish- 
ments and wool warehouses. The exports are cattle, of which considerable numbers are shipped, about 150,000 pounds of wool and 
hides. It is a good local supply point for the surrounding ranches. 

»?" »«r »r »«r »sr »r 



>V'NKLER COUNTY lies on the western edge of the Staked Plain. It is not organized, but has probably 100 inhabitants, all stock 
raisers. The highest point in the county is Douro Station, 3,100 feet above tide-water. The sand hills, mentioned iii the pre- 
ceding pages, are in this county, but lie 500 feet lower. Large quantities of canaigre root, a wild-growing tanning material, are annually 
gathered in these sand hills, and are exported to Europe. Some deer, an occasional bear, peccaries, a species of wild musk-hog foxes 
wolves and smaller game, are said to be still abundant in the sand hills. The county is fairly well stocked with cattle and sheep, but 
their numbers or values are not known to the writer. 

North and south, for a distance of a hundred miles or more, from the Brazos River to the Pecos River, are other counties with the 
same resources and climate as the county north or south of them, described herein, the differences, if any, being in the distance from 
railway transportation, a thinner population and, perhaps, in some counties, cheaper lands. 




SCENE NEAR ODESSA. 



w 



The Vecos aeni'd Trans-^ecos Coun^%y, 

ARD, REEVES AND EL PASO COUNTIES, TEXAS; EDDY AND CHAVES COUNTIES, NEW MEXICO. These 
counties, in manv of their general characteristics, resemble the counties of the Staked Plain. The differences, however, are 




SDGAR BEETS IN UPPER PECOS VALLEY. 



well marked. The altitudes of the plains, or table-lands, vary from 2,580 to 6,000 feet, and about midway between the Rio Grande 
and Rio Pecos are several mountain ranges and detached spurs of the Rocky Blountains, which are from 2,000 to 4,000 feet higher. 

108 



Running streams flow through this region, and from them water for irrigation is obtained in abundance. Excepting a narrow strip 
of land close to the banks of the various permanent water-courses, along which irrigation canals have been built, and a few limited 
areas in the mountains, in which mining developments are carried on, the whole vast stretch of country is devoted to the raising 
of live stock. Of the whole area, probably not exceeding 2 per cent is irrigable, when all the necessary canals shall have been built, 
yet, in the aggregate, the irrigable acreage will exceed a million and a half acres. Away from the rivers, the raising ot cattle, horses 
and sheep is the principal occupation of the inhabitants, excepting those engaged in developing the mineral resources in the 
mountains. 

The live stock interests of El Paso County, and the several counties along the Pecos River, in Texas, in 1897, amounted to 
$1,019,772, and were distributed 
as follows: 

El Paso County, Texas, — 
Horses and mules, 3,624 head, 
valued at f 56, 900; cattle, 17,688 
head, valued at $156,175; sheep, 
3,980 head, valued at f.5,510; hogs, 
390 head, valued at $1,035. 

Ward County, Texas. — 
Horses and mules, 648 head, valued 
at $13,245; cattle, 2,523 head, val- 
ued at $26,135; sheep, 3,800 head, 
valued at $5,700; hogs, 634 head, 
valued at $1,627. 

Reeves County, Texas.— 
Horses and mules, 3,261 head, 
valued at $48,055; cattle, 20,170 
head, valued at $203,335; sheep, 
16,325 head, valued at $24,437; 
hogs, 1,457 head, valued at $3,586. 

Pecos County, Texas.— 
Horses and mules, 3,573 head, 
valued at $34,211; cattle, 40,726 
head, valued at $346,779; sheep, 
72,007 head, valued at $89,962; 
hogs, 369 head, valued at $900. 

Loving County, Texas, is 
not organized. It has several thou- 
sand head of horses and cattle, and 
several large flocks of sheep. 

109 




SHEEP RANCH NEAR BARSTOW. WARD COUNTY. 



Eddy and Chaves Counties, New Mexico, have each about 6,000 head of horses and mules, and from 25,000 to 40,000 head 
of cattle, about 10 per cent of which are milch cows. The number of sheep in the two counties will approximate about 60,000 head, 
and of hogs, there are between 3,000 and 5,000 head. 

Owing to a general depression in the live stock business, in 1894, 1895 and 1896, common throughout the whole United States, 
the renditions of live stock, in Texas, have been given in at extremely low values. The valuations quoted in this pamphlet apply to 
the 1st of Januarv, 1897. Since that date, values of live stock have doubled and trebled in Texas, and the renditions of 1898 will show 
an enormous increase in values. 







SHEEP RANCH REEVES COUNTY, 



110 



I%%IGc4TIO^. 



FARMING in the Trans-Pecos country is carried on exclusively by irrigation, and is confined to the valleys of the Pecos and Rio 
Grande Rivers, and of Limpia, Rock, Toyah, Cedar, Alamito, Leon, Delaware, Todilla, and other creeks in Texas, and Black 

River, Penasco, Felize, North and South Spring Rivers and Rocky Arroya in New Mexico. In the mountains are numerous small 
supplies of water which are also practically used for irrigation. In the vicinity of Pecos City, Texas, and of Roswell and Hagermau, 
New Mexico, are abundant supplies of artesian water, found at a depth of 200 to 300 feet, some of the wells being capable of irrigating 
a quarter section of land. On the Staked Plain, and also in the Trans-Pecos country, where water must be obtained from ordinary 
wells, and windmills are in common use, small patches of ground, varying from 1 to 10 acres, are irrigated from these sources of 
supply, and afford much of the comforts of life to the residents of many isolated ranches, who thus obtain their fruits and vegetables 
for home use. From nearly allot the rivers and smaller streams above mentioned, canals are carried to the alluvial soils in their immediate 
valleys, which, under intelligent cultivation, produce enormous crops. The mode of getting water on the land is based on the fact, 
that water will run in two directions in the valley of every running stream. A canal, having a fall of say 18 inches, or 2 feet, to the 
mile, in order to be kept at this grade, would recede further and further away from the stream, as it was extended down stream. If 
the river has a fall of 7 feet to the mile, and the canal a fall of 2 feet per mile, the end of a canal 20 miles long would be about 100 
feet higher than the water in the river at the same distance in a straight line. The end of the canal would be several miles away from 
the river itself, and the land lying between the canal and the river can be irrigated because the canal lies above it. From such a canal 
are built smaller canals, called laterals, which are connected with still smaller canals and ditches, which convey the water to the farms. 
The actual application of water to the crops is accomplished by either flooding the land as with grain or forage crops, or by running the 
water in furrows, when fruit trees, corn, cotton, sugar beets, vegetables, etc., are irrigated. The process is very simple and readily 
understood when once seen. The number of times and the proper time to irrigate is determined by the character of the soil and the 
condition of the crops, and the on'y competent judge of these matters is the man who cultivates the crop. The cost of applying water 
is from 10 cents to 12*2 cents per acre each time, it being estimated that one man can readily irrigate 10 acres per day, and that his 
labor is worth from $1 to fl.25 per day. The objects accomplished by irrigating a farm are, first, to fertilize it, as the waters of all 
flowing streams carry more or less fertilizing matter, which is washed into them from the lands through which they flow. It is estimated 
that from 5 to 10 tons of natural fertilizers are put on each acre each year in the course of its irrigation. In other words, the irrigating 
farmer gradually converts an upland farm into bottom land by irrigating it, in the same way that Nature would do the job by flooding 
lowlands in time of high water. The second object is to secure a full crop, that is to say, to secure all the land is capable of producing. 
To do this, the plant must have all the food it can consume. The plant food must be in liquid form and for this, water is necessary. 
The amount of water necessary to produce 1 pound of wheat and 2 pounds of straw, is about 2,000 pounds, all of which is absorbed and 
evaporated by the plant in the course of its growth and maturity. Whenever the quantity of water supplied to a crop is less than the 
quantity needed for the perfect growth of a plant, a diminished yield is the invariable result. By giving water when the plants need it, 
the farmer secures and maintains a vigorous growth, and vigorous parents beget numerous and healthy offspring. 

The greatest crops produced by irrigation, in the United States, have been 113 bushels of wheat to the acre, on a farm near 
Helena, Montana, in 1876; 1,000 bushels of potatoes to the acre in the St. Louis Valley, Colorado; 15 tons of cured sorghum hay at 
Pecos City, Texas; 800 bushels of onions, at the same place; 8)2 tons of cured alfalfa hay, at Roswell, N. M. ; 100 bushels of oats, at 
Pecos City, Texas; 25 tons of sugar beets, at Roswell, N. M., etc., etc. The average crops on irrigated lands will run about 30 bushels 
of wheat, 45 to 65 bushels of Indian corn, 300 to 500 of onions, 4 to 6 tons of alfalfa hay, 10 to 15 tons of sugar beets, etc., but 

111 




A TEXAS CORNFIELD. 



these can be counted on year after year, for, with the irrigating farmer, the element of chance is almost entirely removed. The farmer 
who depends exclusively on the rainfall, does not always get it when his crop needs it, and, therefore, he frequently has weak plants 
and diminished yield to contend with. In an irrigated country the oldest farm is the richest and brings the highest price. Where 
the rainfall is depended on exclusively, the natural fertilizers in the soil are, in time, consumed, or washed away, and must be replaced 
by artificial manuring in order to maintain its producing capacity. The cost of maintaining such land detracts from its value. Very 
little time is lost on an irrigated farm. A farm can be made ready for plowing in 24 hours, and 2 and sometimes 3 crops can be 
produced on the same piece of land in the same season. 



I 



^ARMING ISK THE 9?/0 GrANT>E VaLLEY. 

N this valley agricultural operations have been carried on for probably five hundred years. The first Spanish explorers found the 
valley well populated by agricultural Indians, who relied more for their subsistence on their crops, than on the chase. A consid- 
erable number of towns dotted the valley, and around each existed a primitive but effective system of irrigation canals. Cotton was 
raised by the Indians, who were expert weavers, and corn, beans, pumpkins, squashes, and some native fruits constituted their food crops. 
Whether or not the sweet potato was grown is undetermined, though it was well known in southern Mexico and Central America. The 
Irish potato still grows wild in the mountains of New Mexico. Wild tobacco, and a species of wild flax, still grow in the Davis Moun- 
tains, in Reeves County, Texas, but whether the Pueblo Indians cultivated them is not known. The art of making an intoxicating 
drink from the tuna cactus, and from several kinds of maguey, was no mystery to them. With the Spanish invasion came the intro- 
duction of alfalfa, wheat, barley, oats, Spanish grapes, pears, and other fruits; Spanish onions, cabbage, turnips, and other vegetables 
common to Europe. With them came also the various domestic animals. 

At the present time all varieties of grain, Indian corn, forage plants like alfalfa and sorghum, northern, southern, and semi- 
tropical fruits of the best varieties, vegetables of every description, and tobacco of a superior quality are grown in this valley with great 
success. The grape, plum and pear, apple and quince, are the staple fruits, and climate and soil seem to be particularly favorable to 
their growth. The apple and peach are more recent introductions; the former yields a handsome perfect fruit, and the late peaches 
are in demand wherever known. Pear trees in the Rio Grande Valley are long lived, there being many trees in the vicinity of Ysleta, 
in El Paso County, Texas, which measure 4 feet through the trunk, and have a height of over 60 feet. The El Paso or mission grape 
is a famous fruit throughout the Southwest, and the annual export of table grapes from El Paso alone exceeds 100,100 baskets. Great 
quantities of wine are also made, and find a ready sale. Another famous crop of the Rio Grande Valley is the El Paso onion, which is 
noted for its fine flavor and enormous dimensions. The quinces produced here are probably the finest and largest grown anywhere in 
the United States. Wheat yields from 30 to 60 bushels under irrigation, and corn from 30 to 40 bushels. Barley is exceptionally good 
in quality, and yields from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. Alfalfa yields from 4 to 6 tons per acre, sorghum from 5 to 10 tons, and millet, 
Hungarian grass, etc., yield enormously. The present irrigated acreage on both sides of the Rio Grande, in El Paso County, Texas, is 
about 25,000 acres. The taking out of numerous canals, in Colorado and New Mexico, has reduced the available water supply to its 
present limits. The United States has under consideration the construction of a large dam, and a system of irrigation canals, which 
will, when completed, supply water for 230,000 acres, making it thereby possible to sustain a very large population. 

North of El Paso, in New Mexico, at La Luz and Tularosa, in the mountain region, is a limited area capable of irrigation, which is said 
to be very well adapted to the profitable cultivation of apples, potatoes, and commercial truck, andahso well suited for commercial dairying. 



SMARMING ISK THE PeCOS 'VaLLEY. 



'HE first construction of irrigation works, comprising a considerable acreage, was begun in the vicinity of Toyah Creek, in Reeves 
County, Texas, where supplies were grown for the military stations at Fort Stockton, Fort Davis, and Camp Lancaster, which 
afforded a good market for all sorts of agricultural products. Some of the irrigated farms were under cultivation as early as 

1875. Smaller irrigations were carried 

on at both Fort Stockton and Davis. A 

ditch of considerable magnitude was also 

built on the Pecos River, near the Falls, 

and convenient to Camp Lancaster and 

Fort Stockton. With the construction of 

w the Texas & Pacific Railway, prices of 

Jfi farm products were greatly reduced, and 

:{ after a time the forts were abandoned. 

If There being no other market convenient, 

most of the farmers of that day engaged 
in stock raising, which was very profit- 
able, and farming became a secondary 
consideration. The country about Ros- 
well N. M., was placed under irrigation 
early in the '80's, and about 1886, the 
Pioneer Canal, in Reeves and Ward 
Counties, Texas, near Pecos City, was 
begun. In 1890 construction on the mag- 
nificent Canal System of the Pecos Irri- 
gation and Improvement Compan}' was 
begun and completed about 1894. Since 
then there were built the Highland Canal, 
in Reeves County, and the Grand Falls 
Canal, in Ward County. Numerous 
smaller individual irrigations were con- 
structed on the Penasco, Black River, 
Felize River and other smaller streams. 
Accurate figures as to the mileage of 
canals and ditches constructed, is not at 
this time available. The Canal System, 
of the Pecos Irrigation and Improvement 
Company, comprises 1,200 miles, and the 

114 




mileage of the other companies and private irrigations will comnrise as miirli rr,r.r^ Tu^ „„ i 1 , , ^ • , • . 

irrigation ^vilI probably exceed 600,000 acres, making it po ible for his va^y o^ustainl ^r^lTrf.T.^lc u' ,"' ^°^ ^"It'^^t>°n and 
The irrigable lands extend up and down the river for a distance of 200 miles or more ^1 nfth^ population. 

as a huge shallow trough, the center of which is 500 feet lower than ihe bluff of thrstakedpf'i ^At r l^dTl^.Jf'* described 
about 2,500 feet above sea level, and at Roswell; on the Hondo River 3 800 feet ^^"^ ^^^ ^'*""'^'= '" 

no, ),.L""o?n""';.StiS <M."'i,'RS'*4h*.v;,™\S!S~,' STSVSILr'i •"" ■""',1°" : ■"'■"'°' «'""• ■■ «'"■ •" 

bem „bt.me<l. F„By l,.,l,el! of o.l. are ll.e .verLe pe, LVe ihi e ■» hofhrt. ™ ? , ' "' * •• mmy ., 60 l,u>hds have 

Or.ndeV.llev. Is of superior ,,„lilv. Duri^ fhr'AM.yve.;," „,. SoS^ h,!i f.r,^ uncomrno,, y.eM B.rle, , os i„ fl,e Rio 

....r.,„ ,r„„ ,„ s„.„ „„:,i„. .„„ .s . cSc. erop. %^"1,;"irp,Sr";r'5c';rr" SeT^i^n^W'^rCJCrjS.r.lS';, 

115 



the middle of May, the same land being used for a second crop. Alfalfa furnishes a superior substitute for nearly all kinds of hay 
grasses and for many of the grains, the latter being used only for fattening butchers' stock. 

Cotton has not been grown to any great extent in the New Mexican part of the Valley. Owing to its general cheapness within 
the last 3 or 4 years, very little attention was paid to its cultivation, though it yields a lint far superior to the average cotton grown 
without irrigation. On the irrigated farms in Texas it is grown extensively, and from ^^ of a bale to 1 bale are harvested. Some 4,000 
bales of 500 pounds each, were produced at Barstow and Grand Falls, in Ward County, in 189S. Cotton is often planted on land from 
•which small grain has just been hars'ested. Fall wheat should mature about the middle of May, and cotton planted after this time will 
yield quite well. 

The Sugar Beet is one of the most profitable crops that can be grown in the Pecos Vallej'. It is a product that is consumed 

entirely at home. A beet sugar factory, con- 
suming 250 tons of beets per day, for a period 
of 120 days in each j'ear, was erected at Eddy, 
N. M., in 1896. The total consumption of the 
factory amounts annually to 40,000 tons of beets 
for each running season or sugar campaign. 
The beets so consumed must be furnished by 
the farmers, with whom contracts are made 
annually, and who receive an average price of 
$4 per ton. The disbursements by the factory 
to the farmer for beets amount to about f 160,000 
annuall}'. 

The yield obtained by the farmer varies 
from 6 tons to 22 tons per acre, about 12 tons 
being the average. The quantity of sugar 
extracted from the beets is about 12 per cent, 
or about 240 pounds of white granulated sugar 
per ton of beets. The erection of one or more 
additional factories in the Valley is in con- 
templation, and may, within a year, be brought 
about. After the extraction of the sugar from 
the beets, there remains about 45 per cent of 
beet pulp, one of the richest and most valuable 
milk producing cattle feed known. With this 
extremely valuable by-product at hand, cream- 
eries and cheese factories can be established 
and maintained at the smallest cost. 

Commercial Fruit Growing. Fruit is not 
a chance crop in this Valley, and the varieties 
grown are selected wholly with a view to find 

US 




favor in the markets at high prices. Araoiig the grapes grown are: the Muscat of Alexandria, the Flaming Tokay, Black Hamburg, 
Emperor, Rose of Peru, Sultana, and others, all known as high priced fancy table grapes, which cannot be produced in a country 
dependent on the rainfall; among the pears profitably grown are: the Bartlett, Winter Nellis, Duchess, Clapp Favorite, etc. The 
Elberta, Crawford, Piquette, Heath, and Chinese cling peaches are found in most orchards, and apricots and nectarines yield large 
handsome fruit. Plums, prunes, and cherries of Asiatic, European and American varieties, grow and fruit to perfection. 

The apple is the standard fruit of the Valley, for here it reaches its greatest perfection, being absolutely perfect in form, color, 
size and flavor. It can be produced in unlimited quantity and of uniform quality year after year. There are no insect depredations 
and no fungus diseases of any kind, the trees being perfect in growth, free from insect punctures, show no signs of disease, and have 
a perfectly smooth bark. The largest apple orchard in the Valley comprises 65,000 trees, and is situated at Roswell, N. M. It was 
planted in the fall of 1894. 

Commercial Truck Qardening. Cabbage. The minimum yield of an acre of cabbage in the Pecos Valley should be 10,000 
pounds, but with manuring and careful cultivation this can be increased to from 20,000 to 30,000 pounds. On the basis of present prices 
and a yield of 10,000 pounds, an acre of cabbage would net j!l20 after deducting freight charges and crates. "Thorburn's 
Flat Dutch," "Brill's Nonesuch," and "Henderson's Succession" are recommended as well suited to the trade. 

Onions. After the middle of November onions bring from 1 to 2 cents per pound in Texas. As much as 45,000 pounds of onions 
per acre have been produced in the Texas part of the Valley. At only 1 cent per pound in Dallas, after deducting freight and sacks, a 
yield of 10,000 pounds per acre would net f 100, but with proper cultivation this could be more than doubled. 

Irish Potatoes. The spring crop in Texas is abundant and excellent in quality, but long before September it is entirely con- 
sumed. A good fall potato is grown in the Valley and is readily sold at high figures. 

Cauliflower. This is a highly profitable crop. It is usually shipped in the same car with cabbages. Wholesale quotations in 
Texas towns for the entire year will average 7 cents per pound. 

Celery. A large and profitable business in Pecos Valley celery has been developed within the past three years, the annual 
shipments reaching about 15,000 crates of 8 bunches each. While its cultivation requires a considerable outlay of labor and money, it 
is said to yield a revenue of about f300 per acre. 

Freight and express rates from the Pecos Valley to the large cities in Texas are lower than from anv other localities where similar 
products are grown, the distance is less, and perishable goods can be delivered in much better condition than from other competing 
points. 

The several irrigation companies in the Pecos Valley, from whom information in regard to lands, water rights, etc., may be 
obtained on application, are the following: 

The Pecos Irrigation and Improvement Company, Eddy, New Mexico. 

The Roswell Land and Water Company, Roswell, New Mexico. 

The Marguerita Canal Company, Barstow, Texas. 

The Grand Falls Irrigation and Improvement Company, Grand Falls, Ward County, Texas. 

-C>0 •O-'O 



117 



The Cities and Towns o^ the Trrigatet> Region 

XHE city of el PASO, TEXAS. This beautiful city of 20,000 inhabitants lies on the east bank of the Rio Grande, at the most 
convenient point, where an easy passage could be had from the interior of Mexico to the territory of the United States. On the 
Mexican side of the Rio Grande are the Sierra Madres, a range of high, picturesque mountains, skirting the river for a hundred miles or 
more, opposite the city lies the only easy passage through this range. On the American side tower the Franklin Mountains, and 
between these mountain ranges, on the fertile river bank, lie the city of El Paso and its Mexican neighbor, El Ciudad Juarez, formerly 
El Paso del Norte. An hour's walk up the side of Franklin Mountain will present a glorious view of the two cities, separated bv the 
Rio Grande, and surrounded by many miles of flourishing orchards, vineyards and grain fields, and to the east, 12 miles away, may be 
obtained a glimpse of Ysleta, the oldest town in the valley, if not of the United States. El Paso is 646 miles west of Dallas, on the 
extreme western limit of Texas, and lies 3,670 feet above sea level. Its history is a marvelous compendium of romance, of bitter 
struggles for supremacy between its earliest inhabitants, Pueblo Indians and depredatory tribes, between explorers, traders, soldiers, 

monks and priests, followed by long periods of rest and sleepy contentment. From El Paso del 
Norte came the hordes of Spanish soldiers and monks, who overran and conquered New Mexico, 
and to El Paso del Norte returned the shattered remnants of Spanish power, a hundred years later, 
when the Pueblo tribes rose in rebellion, and drove out the last Spaniard in New Mexico. The old 
town of Paso del Norte (Juarez) still shows, in its style of architecture, that defence was the first and 
last consideration, and nearly every house was a fort in itself. With the American occupation came 
the assurance of safety and permanent peace. 

I'p to the year 1880, El Paso was a stagnant Mexican village on American soil, but with the 

advent of the several railway lines, it 
was suddenly converted into an active 
modern city. It is now the most hand- 
some and most substantially built city 
in all Texas, all its structures being 
built of brick or stone. The streets 
are graded and macadamized, and the 
business blocks and residence buildings 
modern and architecturally handsome. 
Among tlie most handsome and exten- 
sive public and private buildings are 
the county court hou.se, which is un- 
.surpassed in Texas for its beauty, the 
U. S. custom house, the city hall, 
opera house, the several church build- 
ings, the military post Fort Bliss, 
the Sheldon block, the Vendome Hotel, 

118 




THE SMELTER 

AT EL PASO. 








the Pierson House, etc. El Paso is an 
important manufacturing, as well as 
commercial, point, and has among other 
local enterprises, two extensive ore smelt- 
ing works, a foundry, planing mills, 
flour mills, cornice works, ice factories 
and refrigerators, tanneries, soap factorj-, 
brick yards, stone yards, railway repair 
shops, etc. A complete system of tele- 
phone and telegraph lines, street rail- 
ways, electric light, water works, fire 
department, and other municipal con- 
veniences, as well as a fine public park, are maintained. Much of the business 
transacted is international in its character. El Paso being the general supply point 
for a very large portion of northern Mexico which consumes vast quantities of 
mining and ranch supplies. It is situated in the midst of a vast mining region, 
drawing from it an extensive trade, and transacts also a great 
businessin grain, cattle, wool, and hides. Nearly all the business nr 
of the irrigated farms on both sides of the river is handled here, Vr 
the annual product being, approximately, 30,000 bushels of corn, s 
50,000 bushels of wheat, 25,000 of oats, 10,000 of barley, 6,000 ^ 
of sweet potatoes, 3,000 of Irish potatoes, 10,000 tons of alfalfa, X^, 
and 5,000 bushels of peas and beans, the whole crop worth about 
$250,000. The fruit and vegetable crop in money value generally 
exceeds that of the ordinary field crop. The value of the annual 
exports is estimated at about $10,800 for peaches, $20,000 for 
apples, $4,000 for plums, $15,000 for melons, cantaloupes, etc., 
$65,000 for miscellaneous truck, $25,000 for grapes, and about 
$2,000 for honey. 

The mercantile establishments in El 
Paso number about 250. The financial 
transactions are made through three 
national banks. The transportation facil- 
ities are excellent. It is the terminal point 
of five of the great railway systems of the 
United States, and the most important city 
on the great southern route between the 
Gulf and California. It is the western 
terminus of the Texas & Pacific Railway, 

119 




i 



Views in El Paso. 



San Antonio Street. 
First Baptist Church. 
Federal Building. 



4. Sheldon Block. 

5. Central .School. 




the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway; the southern terminus of 
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and of the El Paso and North- 
eastern Railway ; the northern terminus of the Mexican Central Railway and of 
the El Paso, Sierra Madre and Pacific Railway, and the eastern terminus ol 
the Southern Pacific Railway. It is the gateway to northern Mexico, and 
the half-way house on the road to California. Its fame as a health resort 
has made it the Mecca of the thousands in search of health, and as a pleasant 
abiding place, it is known to many thousands more who have spent their 
vacations there. 

Ysleta and San Elizario are very old towns situated on the Rio Grande 
12 and 20 miles respectively from El Paso. They have about l,.'iOO inhabitants 
each, most of whom are Pueblo Indians and Mexicans, with a sprinkling of 
Germans and Americans to attend to mercantile transactions. Both towns 
were in existence in 1620 when the Spanish Jesuits established themselves in 
the Valley. In the midst of a beautiful cottntry, surrounded by orchards, 
vineyards, gardens and well tilled farms, the old towns remind the visitor 
of Iri'ing's Sleepy Hollow, where the inhabitants dream of glorious days gone 
bv, possibly to return in centuries to come hereafter. 

Van Horn, near the center of the county of El Paso, on the Texas & 
Pacific Railway, and about 5,000 feet above sea level, is an important supply 
and shipping point for the surrounding cattle and sheep ranches, and various mining camps. It has about 150 inhabitants. 



MEXICAN WATKR CARRIERS. 



JH JH J^ JH J^ Jit 



PECOS CITY, TEXAS. This is the county seat of Reeves County, and is 432 miles west of Dallas, by way of the Texas & Pacific 
Railway. It is also the initial point of the Pecos Valley and Northeastern Railway, whose line of railway extends northward 
along the Pecos River to Eddy and Roswell, New Mexico, a distance of 165 miles. Pecos City has a population of about 1,500, and is a 
great supply and shipping point for a number of small villages and ranches away from the railways, and for about 150,000 acres of 
irrigable lands within eas)' reach. It has extensive stockj'ards, wool warehouses, and does a large business in cattle, hides, wool and 
country produce. It has several large commercial houses and transacts the banking business within a radius of 100 miles. The crops 
of the country handled at Pecos City amount to about 25,000 bushels of corn, 3,000 bushels of oats, 5,000 bushels of sweet potatoes, 
2,500 tons of hav, and about 1,000 bushels of beans, most of these products being grown on the irrigated farms along Toyah Creek, 
some 25 miles southwest of Pecos City. The Pecos Red Sandstone Company has its headquarters here, though the quarries are located 
11 miles east of Pecos City, in Ward County. The stone has a beautiful color, and is equal in solidity and durability to any building 
stone in the United States. The handsome court houses at San Antonio, Dallas, the federal buildings at Fort Worth, most of the 
buildings at Fort Bliss, and numerous large buildings in the various cities of Texas have been erected with this stone. Indications of 
oil and asphalt, deposits of salt, large beds of sulphur have been found in various parts of Reeves County, and silver ores are said to 
exist in the Davis Mountains in the southwestern part. 



The climate is very agreeable and highly beneficial to people suffering from pulmonary complaints. The town is supplied with 
water from numerous artesian wells, the waters of which have been found beneficial to persons afflicted with rheumatism, chronic 
indigestion and chronic diarrhcEa. An artesian sulphur well, at Toyah Station, 20 miles west of Pecos City, where excellent hotel 
accommodations can be had, is also recommended for the cure of similar ailments. The altitude of Pecos City is 2,580 feet; of Toyah, 
3,100 feet above tide- water. 



gARSTOW, TEXAS. This town is the county seat of Ward County, and is six miles east of Pecos City. It is a neatly built town 
of about 300 inhabitants, surrounded in all directions by well kept farms, orchards and vineyards. Some 3,500 to 4,000 acres are 
in- actual cultivation within sight of the town. Barstow is headquarters of the Marguerita Canal Company, which has made available 
for tillage, close to town, some 35,000 to 40,000 acres, all of which have been provided with ample facilities for irrigation. The cotton 
export, for 1898, amounts to about 2,000 bales, bringing an average price of 6 cents per pound, the lint being exceptionally fine, and 
superior to that of eastern Texas. About 3,000 tons of alfalfa were produced, selling at $8 per ton, and yielding an average of 4>^ tons 
per acre. During the months of March and April, when the spring lambs come in, there is great demand for green pasturage for ewes, 
and as much as $3 per acre has been paid for thirty days' pasturage. Peaches yield a perfect, very large, well flavored and handsome 
fruit, which will sell in any market. Prunes promise to become a leading export fruit in time. All of the orchards are young, but 
very promising in appearance. Gar- 
den truck and sugar beets yield 
enormously. Sorghum hay yields 
from 6 to 10 tons per acre, and finds 
a ready sale. 



«F »S^ »F 



•H- »sr 



QRAND FALLS, TEXAS, is a town 
of about 400 people, on the east 
bank of the Pecos River, some 17 
miles due south of Monahan Station, 
on the Texas & Pacific Railway. It 
is m Ward County, and on the main 
canal of the Grand Falls Irrigation 
& Improvement Company. It has a 
large sanitarium, a good hotel, a 
cotton gin, several churches, a good 
school, several substantial business 
houses, a newspaper, and such other 
conveniences as a town of its 
dimensions can afford. Surround- 
ing the town are several thousand 





BKINOINO IN WOOD ON BURRob. 



acres, cultivated in cotton, corn, alfalfa, vegetables and fruits. Some 1,500 bales 
of cotton were marketed in 1898. About 25,000 acres of fine land are under irriga- 
tion and are being rapidly settled up by energetic farmers from Minnesota, 
Wisconsin, and other Northern States. The place is easily reached from Monahan 
Station by stage, or by private conveyance from Barstow or Pecos. 

MT »r »r «r »r ssT 

XOYAHVALE is a small Mexican village in Reeves County, situated at the head 
of Toyah Creek, about 20 miles south from Tovah Station, on the Texas & 
Pacific Railway, and about 10 miles east of the Davis Mountains. It lies in one of 
the prettiest vallej-s in the State of Texas, in the midst of some 25,000 acres of 
the richest land the sun shines on, and is surrounded by picturesque mountains 
on every side. Four miles west is the famous Phantom Lake, formed by a bold stream of the clearest water, rushing forth out 
of a cavern, creating a lake and losing itself in the sands a few hundred yards further on. Six miles further west is Limpia Canon, a 
deep, narrow gash, cut through the Davis Mountains, forming a passageway to Fort Davis, a town of 500 inhabitants, and county seat 
of Jeff Davis County, distant about 25 miles from Toyahvale. In the bottom of Limpia Canon flows Limpia Creek, a clear, bold 
stream, rushing over a gravelly bottom, to finalh" lose itself, after having irrigated a numljer of farms near Fort Davis, in the sandy 
plains beyond the mountains. The walls of Limpia Caiion are precipitous and rise from 300 to 1,000 feet above the bottom of the creek. 
Toyah Creek is formed by a tremendous spring of pure, clear water, which bursts out in the open plain and makes the creek, which is 
about 40 miles long, and is reinforced by other large springs in its course. At its mouth is Toyah Lake, a body of salt water, some 4 or 
5 miles long and 2 or 3 miles wide, affording splendid beaches for bathing and excellent opportunities for boating and hunting — a 
sportsman's paradise, where innumerable water-fowl abound in summer and winter. Some day it will become a famous watering 
resort, a gathering place for tourists and health seekers, for sooner or later someone will build a good hotel there and furnish good 
accommodations. The Toyah Valley is an ideal spot to spend a vacation in. Quail, ducks, curlew, geese, doves, etc., are abundant 
everywhere, and in the mountains the black-tail deer is no stranger. In Phantom Lake, Toyah Spring and Toyah Creek, the festive 
black bass and rainbow perch, and the ever hungry blue channel catfish, abound. 

Strung along the creek, from its head almost to the lake, are a number of elegant farms, which are irrigated from canals taken 
out at the head of the stream, as well as further dcwn. Magnificent crops of corn, cotton, small grain, alfalfa, vegetables, sweet 
potatoes, sorghum, etc., are annually produced, and marketed at Pecos City and the stock ranches and mining camps within easy reach. 



»r «■ »r »«r »r 



^DDY, NEW MEXICO. This is an incorporated town of 1,500 inhabitants, situated on the west bank of the Pecos River, 90 miles north 

of Pecos City, by way of the Pecos Valley & Northeastern Railway. It is the general headquarters of the Pecos Irrigation &. 

Improvement Company, which owns and operates the largest irrigation canal system in the United States. The head of this canal 

system is Lake MacMillan, an artificial body of water, 11 miles long and 5 miles wide at its greatest width. It is the great storage 



lake of the system. Through suitable lieadgates, the water is let into the Pecos River bed, as wanted, and conducted into Lake Avalon_, 
a distributing reservoir, 6 miles long and 3 miles wide. Here, passing through another series of headgates, the water enters the main 
canal, and, through innumerable smaller canals, the water is distributed in sufficient quantity to irrigate 200,000 acres, about 25,000 
of which are in actual cultivation. The canal system extends southward from Eddy for a distance of 50 miles. The town, which is the 
county seat of Eddy County, is 3,100 feet above sea-level, and enjoys, both in summer and winter, a most delightful climate. It is 
surrounded by numerous orchards, farms and vineyards, by several extensive parks, and all its streets, as well as the lanes in the 
suburbs, are shaded by rows of tall trees. It is a favorite resort for people suffering from pulmonary troubles, and has most excellent 
accommodations for their comfort. The Win'dsor Hotel is a well managed and well appointed hostelry, well and favorably known 
throughout the Southwest. Accommodations in private houses can akso be had, at moderate charges. Among the private and public 
buildings of note are the Eddy Club, 6 attractive church buildings, a fine 12-room brick school building, an elegant court house, 
several fine brick business blocks, numerous elegant residences, water works, railroad shops, electric light plant, an ice factory, and a 
fully developed w'ater power, sufficient for a number of large factories. One of the most important enterprises is a large beet sugar 
factory, which consumes about 40,000 tons of beets per annum, the product of about 4,000 acres, and turns out about 35 tons of 
granulated sugar per day. When in operation, which is usually from September to March, it employs about 150 persons. The traffic 
of the town consists largely in the export of wool, cattle, muttons, .sugar, hogs, alfalfa hay, grapes, honey, fruits, and farm products 
generally. In addition to the city and local ranch trade, there is also a traffic of considerable magnitude with the ranches in the 
mountains, and the towns of Weed, Peiiasco, Otis, Florence, Malaga, etc. There are some splendid resorts, with fine scenery, in the 
vicinity of Eddy, such as the famous fishing places along Rocky Arroya, some 17 miles northwest, the Rush Ranch, in the Gaudaloupe 
Mountains, Gaudaloupe Caves, etc. Quail, doves and rabbits can 
be found in abundance all the year round; ducks, plover, geese and 
curlew are numerous during the winter months; antelope are still found in 
Eddy County, and in the Gaudaloupe Mountains, some 40 miles west <>l 
Eddy, black-tail deer, wild cats, black bears, an occasional mountain lion, 
coyotes, lobo wolves, badgers and native foxes, turkeys and squirrels, exist 
in considerable numbers. 

^ f>r fV 1^ 99- ftr 

I^OSWELL, NEW MEXICO, situated in the northern part of the agri- 
cultural and fruit growing portion of the Pecos Valley, is a town of 
1,500 inhabitants, and the county seat of Chaves Count)-. It is the present 
terminus of the Pecos Valley & Northeastern Railway, and is pleasantly 
located in a basin near the head of North Spring River, lying midway 
between this stream and the Hondo River. It is about 20 years old, and 
substantially built, nearly all the business houses being constructed of 
brick, and of modern design. The town has 2 good graded schools, in 
roomy brick buildings, 4 church organizations owning attractive places of 
worship, a flourishing commercial club and Board of Trade, with elegantly 
furnished club rooms, one bank with $50,000 capital, a United States 




land office, a United States agricultural experimental substation, a free reading room, Board of Health, a volunteer iire department, a 
small packing house, a broom factory, a tlour mill, 3 hotels, a court house, 3 weekly newspapers, 10 miles of graded streets shaded 
with stately Cottonwood, and numerous well built and attractive business blocks. The railway shops are located here, and a beet sugar 
factory is to be built in the near future. An important institution is the New Mexico Military Institute, built and maintained under 
the auspices of the Territory of New Mexico. The buildings are of brick, trimmed with red sandstone. They are three stories, with 
basement, lighted by gas, heated by steam, hot and cold water on every floor, perfect fire apparatus, 'complete system of water works, 
and perfect sewerage. The furnishings are new and modern, and few hotels can afford more genuine comfort. The buildings will 
accommodate 200 students. The course embraces the study of the modern languages, mathematics, natural sciences, a business course, 
and a general training valuable in after life. The faculty is a strong one, derived from the best colleges in the United States. 

Roswell is the supply point for a large number of cattle and sheep ranches, lying north, northeast, and northwest, as well as for 
the towns of Lincoln, Nogal, White Oaks, Fort Stanton, Hagerman and smaller places, scattered over an area several hundred 
miles in extent. Of the local products, large quantities of apples, onions, cabbages, cauliflower, honey and celery are shipped annually 
to Texas The exports of celerv, in 1897, amounted to about 10,000 crates, containing 8 dozen plants each, and the same met with" a 
ready sale. There is no record available of the amount of wool shipped, but it is thought that the exports will exceed 1,000,000 pounds. 
A great and profitable business is the export of mutton lambs. The facilities for feeding and fattening cattle, muttons, and hogs, are 
exceptionallv good at Roswell, and the exports of fattened butchers' stock from this point are very large. The finest animals of any 
popular breed can be found on the farms near Roswell, probably in greater number than anywhere else in either Texas or New Mexico. 

The irrigating facilities of the country surrounding Roswell are magnificent. Five large streams, each fed by immense springs, 
furnish an enormous quantity of water, by which some 20,000 acres of fertile lands, lying close to town, are irrigated, the surplus 
flowing into a canal 30 miles long, from which as much more land is supplied with water. In addition to these are the waters of the 
Hondo, a stream heading in the Capitan Mountains, which irrigate another large acreage. Some 30 or 40 strong flowing artesian wells 
also contribute their share to the water supply, used for irrigation. 

All the fruits of the temperate zone are grown here to perfection, but the apple in particular, is without rival for size, beauty, 
flavor or soundness. The acreage in the old bearing orchards is comp.iratively small. The young orchards, many of which are now 
bearing, cover about 1,300 acres, one orchard alone including over 500 acres. 




cMlNES <ANT> cMmiNG I^ TeXAS, 



VERY httle has been done m Texas, in the way of developing the immense mineral resources of the State. Good ores of various 
kinds are fcund in a 1 parts, but nowhere is there a fully developed mining industry. The counties along the line of the Texas 
& Pacific Railway, share in this natural wealth to a considerable extent, and a memorandum of the known sources of supnly 
may be in order. oi^t'lJi^ 

Iron ore is abundant in nearly all the woodland counties of eastern Texas. Iron smelters are operated at Kelleyville and Rusk 
and a foundry for manufacturing car wheels has been in operation at Marshall for a number of years 

Potteyf ' '^l^ys; brick and fire brick clays of the best quality are abundant in Bowie, and many east Texas counties, and Henderson 
Denton, Dallas, Parker and Erath Counties, and, in some localities, are being extensively worked. Large potteries are in Bowie and 
Denton Counties, brick and tile works at Athens, in Henderson County, Dallas, at Bennetts Station, in Parker County, and at Thurber. 
iQ xvfcitn v_oiiiiiv. 

■ . .Salt is extensively mined at Grand Saline, in Van Zandt County, and Colorado City in Mitchell County. Extensive salt deposits 
exist in El Paso County, but, being remote from railway transportation, are not being worked. 

Coal IS extensively mined at Thurber, in Erath County, and at Rock Creek, in Palo Pinto Countv. Deposits of coal exist in four 
or five counties in the same locality, but no developments have been made. It is also present in El Paso County, in several localities 
In several counties in eastern Texas, beds of lignite have also been found, but have not yet been turned to practical account 

Petroleum, in merchantable quantity and quality has been developed at Corsicana, in Navarro County, and a considerable number 
of oil wells have been bored. It has also been found at Waco, in McLennan County. Asphalt appears to be abundant at St. Jo in 
Montague County, and has also been found in Reeves County. Gas has been found in several wells in Palo Pinto County 

Sulphur in immense quantity exists in El Paso County, in the vicinity of Delaware Creek. Efforts are now being made to develop 
these deposits. '^ '^ 

„T A ^"y 'i°i'^ and sandstone occurs plentifully in Parker, Eastland, and adjoining counties; red sandstone, of superior quality in 
Ward County, near Pyote Station; blue limestone, red sandstone, white, black, red and varigated marbles in El Paso County near Van 
Horn Station. ^ 

The metals, both precious and base, excepting iron, which is present, more or less everywhere, are confined more especially to 
two large districts in the State. The one is in central Texas, known popularly as the Llano District, a region of volcanic upheaval, 
apparently rich in gold, silver, copper, and other valuable ores. The other is in the Trans-Pecos County, and embraces the spurs of 
tlie Rocky Mountains, reaching into Texas, many of the peaks reaching the height of 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 feet. El Capitan in the 
Guadaloupe Range, about 10,000 feet. ^ 

Indications of gold ore, specimens of gold bearing float rock have been found in nearly every mountain range but no placer 
diggings or extensive gold veins have as yet been found or worked. Their existence is beyond doubt, and it is only a question of time 
when they will be discovered and developed. Silver ores, in combination with lead, zinc, and copper, have been found in many places 
in well defined veins, and have, to some extent, been developed. 

125 



The Shatter Mining Co., in the Chinati Mountains, on Cibolo Creek, have a ten stamp mill, and have shipped, for a number of years, 
between 30,000 and 40,000 ounces of silver per month. The Hazel Jline, at the foot of the Sierra Diabolo, north of Van Horn Station, 
has shipped some $200,000 worth of silver-bearing copper ore. The analysis from other mines and prospects show from 3 to 300 ounces 
of silver to the ton. Others show gold from traces up to 3 ounces, copper to 50 per cent, lead to 60 per cent, zinc, 30 and even 54 per 
cent, alone or with precious metals. Magnetic and hematite iron ores abound, and traces and indications of other valuable ores, such 
as tin, cinnabar, uranium, etc., are frequently encountered. 

The mountain ranges which have been more thoroughly prospected are the Carrizo Range, about 3 miles north of Allamore 
Station, on the Texas & Pacific Railway; the Quitman Mountains, some 10 miles southwest of Sierra Blanca Station, the Diabolo 
Mountains, some 8 miles northwest of Van Horn Station; the Eagle Mountains south of Torbert Station, and the Chinati Mountains, in 
Presidio Countv, All except the last named are easily reached from Sierra Blanca Station, on the Texas & Pacific Railway, where 
information and supplies can be obtained. The Shaffer mines in Presidio County are reached by way of Marfa vStation, on the Southern 
Pacific Railway. 




Mineral Wate%s c4nt> Health ^esor^s, 

TEXAS has certainly been favored by Providence in a goodly supply of Nature's most valuable productions, and among these are the 
hundreds of mineral wells, springs, hot and cold, many of which are yet unknown and undeveloped, but in reality possessed of 

curative properties far surpassing those of any yet discovered. Among the many may be mentioned the thermal wells of Waco, 
the thermal artesian sulphur well of Marlin, the purgative wells of Corpus Christi, the bitter waters at Cotulla, the chalybeate well of 
Gonzales, the Luling mineral well, the spring at Lampasas, the chalybeate and hot sulpbur wells at San Antonio, the Wootan wells, 
the Sutherland springs, and also the celebrated well of Carrizo Springs in Dimmit Countj'. The waters mentioned have already 
wrought thousands of cures in chronic gastric catarrh, dyspepsia, indigestion, rheumatism, kidney troubles, skin and blood diseases, 
etc., and in addition to these are hundreds of others, whose virtues are less well known but equally eflective. Along the line of the 
Texas & Pacific Railway are quite a number of such, and of these we wish to make special mention. People suffering from the various 
ailments mentioned above, who are entirely free from pulmonary troubles, can undoubtedly find relief and cure in eastern and central 
Texas; where, however, the disease is complicated with asthma, consumption, chronic catarrh, and diseases of the throat, chest or 
lungs, the waters in western Texas and New Mexico, for climatic reasons are especially recommended. 

Dalby Springs, IngersoU Springs, Chal)'beate, and Red Springs, all in Bowie Count}', are chalybeate in character, and 
locally are prized as of unquestioned value in the cure of dyspepsia, rheumatism and kidney troubles. Dalby Springs has a hotel; 
character of accommodations at the other springs not known. 

Hughes spring, in Cass County, on the Sherman, Shreveport & Southern Railway, is noted for the curative powers of its waters 
in cases of general debility, malarial and typhoid fevers. The place has about 401) inhabitants. 

Hynson's Iron riountain Springs, 6 miles from Marshall, Texas, in Harrison County, near the top of a hill, rising abruptly 610 
feet, from which point the landscape is visible for a distance of 20 miles. The landscape is made up of hills and valleys, cultivated 
farms and stately pine forests. There are about 50 springs and wells in groups scattered about the top and sides of the hill. Water is 
present in the greatest variety, graduating from almost chemically pure to the strongest iron, sulphur, magnesia and soda waters. All 
of them are of easy access, over well-made roads and paths. Stomach troubles yield readily, and a natural and health}' appetite is soon 
secured. Indigestion is greatly benefited, and often cured. Diseases of women are frequently cured, and lasting benefits acquired. 
Diseases of the skin, scrofula, eczema, diseases of the bladder and kidneys, chronic diarrhea, constipation, hemorrhoids, and other 
ailments yield readily to the influence of these waters. The hotel accommodations are sufficient for 100 guests. 

Rosborough Springs, also in Harrison County, situated in a pine and oak grove, 9 miles south of Marshall, are also famous for 
many cures effected there. They are recommended as useful in the treatment of liver and kidney troubles, indigestion, eczema or any 
cutaneous disease, old sores, etc.; also as a specific for strengthening puny delicate children, and correcting female irregularities. In 
the immediate vicinity of Marshall are several other springs, notably the Montvale and Hartley's, which are locally famous. Marshall 
has about 8,000 inhabitants and first-class hotel accommodations. 

Phillips' Spring, situate 8 miles north of Gilmer, in Upshur County, is chalybeate in character, and is recommended in cases 
of debility, etc. 

Capp's Mineral Well, at L,ongview, in Gregg County, has been highly recommended for the treatment of dropsy, Bright's disease, 
dyspepsia, biliousness, rheumatism and kindred diseases. A qualitative analysis made by Prof. Richard of the U. S. Department of 
agriculture, shows it to be a sulphur water, containing sulphate of iron, potash, sulphate of soda, salts, and chloride of lime and magnesia. 



Musgrove Mineral Springs are situated 3^i miles east of Winsboro, on the Sherman, Shreveport & Southern Railway, in Wood 
County. The analysis of the waters gives protoxide of iron, held in solution by free carbonic acid, as the leading property, accompanied 
by lime and magnesia. They are said by a distinguished chemist to be similar to the waters of Brighton, England. The accommodations 
consist of a good hotel of 25 rooms, and 6 cottages available for family use, in pleasant surroundings. Trains stop at Musgrove Station. 

Mead Springs, near Honey Grove, in Lamar County, said to contain iron and other minerals, are a well favored local watering place. 





ifV I ■llif I 





MINERAL WELL^, lHh c«.iMl,si, HEALTH RESORT OF TEXAS. 



THE HEXAGON HOTEL. MINERAL WELLS, TK.XAS. 



Mineral Wells, Texas. These wells are more particularly described in a description of Palo Pinto County, Texas, on page 80 
of this pamphlet. The waters possess wonderful medicinal properties, especially for the treatment of rheumatism, liver diseases, 
bronchitis, dyspepsia, sore eyes, kidney troubles, diseases of women, all skin diseases and chronic affections generally. From 3,000 to 
5,000 patients visit the place annually. The accommodations are very good and the charges moderate. Through tickets to Mineral 
Wells are on sale at all railway stations. 



Thurber Artesian Well, at Thurber, in Erath County, is, in accordance with analyses made, similar to the springs at Carlsbad, 
in Germany, and Bath, in England. The water of the well is recommended for the treatment of diseases of the liver, catarrh, jaundice, 
catarrh of the stomach and intestines, chronic diarrhea,, chronic constipation, eczema, skin diseases, gout, rheumatism, weak eyes, and 
inflamed eyelids. The water is used internally as well as in baths. The hotel accommodations are ample and good. 

Hico and Duffau Springs, also in Erath County, are highly recommended by the residents for the treatment of diseases of the 
liver, for general debility and chronic disorders of all kinds. 

Cisco and Eastland Sulphur Springs, in Eastland County, are within a few miles of the towns of Cisco and Eastland. They 
have some local repute and are visited by the residents of the towns to secure relief from chronic ailments. 

The Putnam Wells and Pecan Springs are in Callahan County. The first named at Putnam Station on the Texas & Pacific 
Railway. Locally, these waters are highly esteemed as cures for cancerous and scrofulous diseases. 

The springs and wells mentioned above are only a few of the hundreds in Texas lying east of the 100th meridian and within 
easy reach of stations on the Texas & Pacific Railway They are situated in a section of country varying in altitude from 300 feet to 
1,500 feet above sea level, and in a country where the annual rainfall varies from 25 inches to 50 inches, and where in consequence the 
degree of humidity is correspondingly high. Their value for the cure of diseases claimed for them cannot be successfully disputed. 
Anyone with sound lungs and free from diseases of the respiratory organs, can hope for relief and cure at one or the other of the 
hundreds of mineral springs and wells in eastern, northern and central Texas. 

The one great drawback to the more e-xtensive use of Texas mineral waters is the fact that very few of them have been improved 
so as to accommodate the demands of society. The high-priced hotel, with up-to-date trimmings and fixings, the park-like grounds, 
and other expensive adjuncts to all "elegant watering places," are in most cases missing. It will not be long until these fads will, in a 
measure, be satisfied, and capital will see the remarkable possibilities which this kind of investment offers. At many of the smaller 
places the ordinary fare of the Southern farm house will have to suffice for the present. 

If the patient has a complication of diseases involving consumption, asthma, bronchitis, chronic nasal catarrh, or other diseases 
of the lungs or throat, relief should be sought west of the 100th meridian, in an altitude varying from 2,500 feet to 10,000 feet. The 
mineral springs in that section, scattered through western Texas and New Mexico, and the waters of many of the streams, will accom- 
plish the relief and cure of most chronic ailments, but the cure of consumption and kindred diseases is only possible in a dry, rarefied 
and stimulating atmosphere, which can only be found at an altitude exceeding 2,500 feet. 

The mineral waters in extreme western Texas and southeastern New Mexico have not been improved to any extent, and very few 
analyses have been made. The country is thinly settled, and the value of the waters is known only by local report. 

North of Stanton Station, in Martin County, in the C. C. Slaughter pasture, are a number of sulphur springs which are recom- 
mended as favorable to the cure of indigestion and dyspepsia. Altitude 2,900 feet. 

The Rio Pecos and its various tributaries are more or less mineralized, and chronic ailments of various kinds are cured by the 
continuous use of their waters. An appetite that has been lost for some time is quickly found along the banks of the stream and a 
good digestion secured. Rheumatism yields readily and disappears after a short use of the waters. There is a great difference 
in the quality and composition in the waters of the different tributaries, and their best uses can only be determined by actual 
analyses. 

The artesian wells at Pecos City are more or less saline in character, and have a very beneficial effect in cases of chronic diarrhea, 
chronic indigestion, rheumatism, catarrh of the stomach, etc. Altitude 2,580 feet. 

The great artesian sulphur well at Toyah Station, altitude 3,100 feet, is favorably remembered by many suffering from rheumatism, 
catarrh, dyspepsia, etc. Fine hotel accommodations. 



The sulphur spring at Rocky Arroya, near Eddy, N. M., and the sulphur artesian well, at Roswell, N. M., are highly praised for 
their efficacj' in curing dj'spepsia, cutaneous diseases, sores and most ills that human flesh is heir to. It has always been the impres- 
sion of the writer that the ordinary artesian wells at Roswell, N. M., were a good and sufficient remedy for rheumatism, kidney 
troubles, diseases of the bladder, indigestion, dyspepsia, at the same time being a clear wholesome water, good for all household 
purposes. Having no taste of the minerals contained in them, a very small percentage being carried in solution, more water would have 
to be drank and a longer time be required to obtain results, but, in a glorious climate like that of southeastern New Mexico and western 
Texas, this would be a boon rather than a drawback. 

Within a mile or two of Eddy, New Mexico, immediately on the river bank are a series of powerful springs, the waters of which 
in chemical analysis are almost identical with those of Friedrichshall in Germany. These springs are useful and valuable in diseases 
of the stomach, liver and urinary organs; excellent for obstinate constipation; good for dyspepsia, and of excellent ser\-ice 
in rheumatism. 

The Pecos Valley is full of mineral springs and wells, the value of which is as yet unknown. At one place on Delaware Creek, 
on the lines between Texas and New Mexico, is a nest of some 50 or 60 springs, varying from almost chemicallj' pure water to the 
most execrable flavors that Nature's laboratory could compound. No two of the springs are alike, and until a thorough chemical 
analysis has been made it might be a dangerous experiment to try their effect on the human system. They lie in a region of former 
violent volcanic disturbance, and in close proximity to an immense area of sulphur deposits. 

About 15 miles southwest of Sierra Blanca Station, on the Texas & Pacific Railway, are Hot Springs, which have been used for 
centuries by the Indians and Mexicans for rheumatism, neuralgia, and other diseases. 

In south central New Mexico, easily reached from EI Paso, Tex., are a number of hot springs, with good and ample hotel 
accommodations, which are worthy of special mention, all of them are of volcanic origin and are locally famous. They are the Ojo 
Caliente, in the Taos Valley; the Jemez Hot Springs, San Antonio, Penasco, Zia, Coyote, Las Vegas Hot Springs, Hudson Hot 
Springs, Folsom Hot Springs, Cherryville Springs, Gila Hot Springs, Apache Tajoe Springs, Aztec Springs, McBeth Springs, and 
Mineral Artesian Well, at Springer, N. M. 



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SCENE IN NORTHWESTERN TEXAS. 



ALTITUDES AND RAINFALL 

ALONG THE LINE OF 

The Texas & Pacific 
Railway 

IN TEXAS. 










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I' » " " » 1 ..TTL".';',"" J— "» x? i 1 1 H i Vii»:ir«!" 



, I K r'^-^r ;» \WtJ'3iv,.<vB«.ao«(},>, , ,\...»* A"^, ^ Aj ^^ — -^ 



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"COLLIN: 




A 



^S---' 



Distribution of Timber, Prairie, 
and riountain Areas. 

Original Forest Areas. 

Prairie Lands AlternatiDg irith Mottes 

of Timber. 
Open Prairie, with Mestiuite Brush on 

Uplands, 
fountain Areas. HI 



Map No. 4. 



Consumption and Climate, 



IT is probable that, at this time, there is no disease that afflicts so large a number of human beings, with such fatal results, as that 
of pulmonary consumption; none that causes so much suffering, pain and sorrow. Medical science has never been able to master 
it, or to discover medical appliances or remedies capable of curing it when it once has a firm hold upon its victim. All agree 
that Nature's remedv is the best and onlv cure. 




A 1 h X A S L .A I 



.1,1-. K .A .>; t.: 1 



This remedy must have the following characteristics to be efficacious: A dry, aseptic air, a light atmospheric pressure, a dry, 
porous soil, a maximum of sunshine, a minimum of cold, and a slight variation of temperature only between extremes of heat and cold. 
New Mexico and Texas, west of the 103d meridian, lie in the region of greatest dryness in the United States, and the rainfall for the 
entire region is between 12 and 20 inches, nearly all of it precipitated in the months of June, July and August, the remainder of the 



ri 



year being almost entirely free from rain. The altitude varies between 2,500 and 6,000 feet. The air has a fresh crispness, bracing 
properties, which are instantly noticed by the new-comer. The dry air is a purifier, and a disinfectant. Meat exposed to it is dried 




SCENK IN .NOKTUKK.N TKXAb. 



and cured, but never spoils. The grass that grows on the plains does not rot, but cures perfectly on the ground; furnishing rich, dry 
forage all winter. In summer it is never uncomfortably warm in the shade, and in winter it is delightfully invigorating in the sun. 



132 



The death-rate from pulmonary disease is the lowest known on earth, and in no climate can life be spent so happily, with as much 
pleasure, and so little that is disagreeable, as in that of western Texas and New Mexico, which have an identical climate. 

The various medical authorities, who have thoroughly and conscientiously examined this region in 
^\^||a'^ the connection with the cure of consumption, report thereon as follows: 

p^ . _ Dr. Richard H. Cooi,idge, Assistant Surgeon, United States Army, in his "statistical report on the 

"OClOrS Say* sickness and mortality in the United States Army, compiled from records of the Surgeon-General's office, from 
1839 to 1855," same quoted by Dr. W. M. Yandell, Health Physician of the city of El Paso, in Texas Health 
Journal, printed at Dallas, Texas: 

Dr. Coolidge says: "The most important atmospherical condition for a consumptive \5 dryness .... this fact has been 
forcibly impressed upon the compiler during 
the minute examinations necessary to the 
preparation of this report." 

' ' The worst possible climate for a 
consumptive, is one with long continued high 
temperature, and a high dew point . 
a- uniformly loiv is much to be preferred to 
a uniformly high temperature." 

Referring to a table exhibiting the 
amount and ratio of sickness and mortalitj' 
in the United States Army, in the several 
regions of the United States, from phthisis 
pulmonalis, Dr. Coolidge further says: 

" It will be perceived, by an examina- 
tion of the table, that, with the exception of 
West Point (which should be excluded for 
the reason that the cadets are young, only 
admitted after rigid examination, in regard 
to health and physical development, and 
remain but four years), the lowest ratio of 
cases of consumption occurs in New Mexico, 
being Ti\ per 1,000, and the highest in 
the South Atlantic region, where it is 9-i-o- 
per 1,000. 

Gen. W. A. Greely, Chief Signal 
Officer United States Army, in an article 
entitled ' ' Where shall we spend our winter? ' ' 
November, 1888, says: "The map of abso- 
lute humidity for January, shows, with 
other data, herewith, that — dry warm air is 

133 




STOPPING TO FEED. 




found in southwestern Texas, and the southern 
portions of New Mexico and Arizona." 

Dr. J.\ccoud, quoted by Dr. Denison, in 
the same report, referring to immunity from 
consumption, saj-s: 

"As to the quality of the climate, which 
affords this immunity, altitude is the most 

important element Climates with a 

high altitude, having tonic and stimulating effects, 
can alone confer on the inhabitants absolute or 
relative immunity from pulmonary phthisis. . . 
. The question of aji altitude of immunitj- 
from phthisis (consumption) is important, because 
there is strong presumptive proof that those 
climatic conditions which prevail where phthisis 
seldom or never originates, are best suited to ar- 
rest the disease, when it has commenced elsewhere." 
AssT. Surgeon G. K. Wood, one of the 
medical officers, whose report is included in Dr. 
Coolidge's report, remarks in reference to diseases 
of the respiratory system: 

"The climate of those broad and elevated 
table lands, which skirt the base of the Rocky 
Mountains on the ea.st, is especially beneficial 
to persons suffering from pulmonary diseases or 
with scrofulous diathesis. The reports from the 
line of posts, stretching from the Upper Platte 
through New Mexico to the Rio Grande, give a 
smaller proportion of cases of pulmonary disease 
than those from any other portion of the United 
States. The air in this region is almost devoid of moisture ; there are no sudden changes of temperature ; the depressing heat of the Eastern 
summers is never felt; and although in the North the winters are extremely cold, a stinuilant and tonic effect is the only result of 
exposure in the open air. It is of great importance that the climate of this region should be generally known; that the present 
injudicious course of sending consiunptives to the hot, low and moist coast and islands of the Gulf of Mexico should be abandoned." 

Dr. Denison, in the same report, says: "The jjreferable climate for the great majority of consumptives in the United States 
varies, according to the case, from 1,500 feet elevation in the North in winter, to 10,000 feet as a possible extreme in the Southern 
portion in summer." 

Evidence from medical practitioners in civil life is given as follows. Dr. N.\Th.\n NtiTTiNG, of Mount Vernon, New York, 
contributed to the New York Christian Advocate, in November, 1897, an article on pulmonary consumption, and the following 



TEXAS COTTON. 



excerpts are quoted from it: "In the year 1885 the Medical Congress of France appointed a committee to make a thorough examination 

in any part of the world that gave promise of the requisite climatic conditions in any considerable degree The committee 

agreed tliat the proper temperature would be found between the 32d and 36th degrees of latitude, where the patient would not be 
exposed to the severe weather of the North or the enervating influences of the South. 

"They visited Asia, Africa, North America and South America, and agreed that the Rio Grande Valley of Central New Mexico 
•was the locality wherein the necessary conditions were found in the highest degrees. The American Health Resort Association, in the 
year 1891, formally decided upon Central New Mexico .is the most suitable place in the world, and indorsed the report of the 
French physicians who had investigated 
the subject exhaustively." - - 

Dr. J.\mes H. Wroth, of Albu- 
querque, N. M., gave the result of his ob- 
servations in an article in The Sanitarium. 
We quote from this article as follows: 

"The best results of the climate are 
seen in the tubercular cases. Naturally, 
the effects of a climate are best seen 
among the native population, and the 
practice among them soon demonstrates 
the non-existence of phthisis, which be- 
comes the more marked when we consider 
their habits of life, their total disregard 
of any care, and their social condition. 

"No cases of phthisis occurring 
among Americans' born in the Territory 
have been reported. As many of the 
children born of parents who came here 
in the early days, have now reached 
manhood, and as many of these parents 
came to New Mexico 'for their health,' 
this fact is significant. 

"In such cases where tubercular 
taint exists, but where no loss of lung 
tissue has taken place, there is a unan- 
imity of opinion that the disease has 
uniformly been checked, and, as far 
as can be done in many instances, cured. 
At all events, the feeling of the pro- 
fession is that of general, decided and 
lasting benefit." 

135 




Prof. Hughes Bennet, of the Universit5- of Edinburg, declares: 

"There is no health resort in Europe, not excepting the much lauded Riviera, that can show such a stable and equable range of 
heat and cold as can be found at the meteorological station at Santa Fe, New Mexico, changes throughout the Territory are never 
sudden ; hence, the invalid and health seeker, by a little attention to his clothing, can exercise daily in the open air and have no fear 
of colds and inflammation of the air passages, so trying upon sufferers resident upon the Atlantic and Pacific coasts." 

Dr. J. F. D.\CTER, writing in the Medical Visitor, says: 

"I think New Mexico surpasses all localities for consumptives I have yet visited I am of the decided opinion that 

the region visited is, for consumptives, superior to any other part of the United States, or the world, of which I have any practical 
knowledge." 

Dr. Roi,.\nd G. CurT.\in's essay on consumption in the Medical News, is summarized as follows: 

"Salt air has a bad effect on tubercular lung disease by hastening the breaking-down process. Warm, moist air relaxes the tissues 
and blood vessels and enervates and relaxes the system at large. Rarefied air tends to prevent hemorrhage by arresting the ulcerative 
or other disease processes, and also by lowering the arterial tension. Cool air contracts the tissues and blood vessels, thus preventing 
the flow of blood when the tendency to hemorrhage exists, and blocks up the blood vessels — all favoring the arrest and prevention of 
bleeding. The purity of aseptic air favors repair and cure of the lung disease and kills and dwarfs the action of the disease germ.' 

Dr. Henry O. M-\rcy, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says: 

"Exercise in elevated localities has an especially invigorating effect on the respiratory functions and apparatus, the circulation is 
improved, thereby increasing the oxidation of the tissues, as well as producing a better cellular nutrition of the effete material." 

Dr. Gatchell, writing in the Medical Era, says: 

"The high interior of our continent comprised in the great table land extending from the 'Great Divide' in Colorado through 
New Mexico is not excelled anywhere in the world as a resort for consumptives. The altitude, the dryness, the purity of the atmos- 
phere, and the large amount of ozone it contains, combine to create conditions very favorable to recovery from consumption." 




IM 



Where to Seek Health as well as Pleasure. 



THE invalid who is free from the taint of consumption and kindred diseases, is free to seek relief at any of the mineral springs and 
wells scattered throughout Texas. Tlie winter mouths in uorlUeru aud ceuiral i'exas are decidedly agreeaule, as compared with 

the grim cold of the Northern States. Good hotel accommodations can be had in all of the larger places in Texas, at very 
moderate rates, aud the number of watering places is so great, that one ueed not go far in any direction to find what is sought for. A 
tour by way of Texarkana, Marshall, Tyler, and other watering places in the woodland counties, extended to San Antonio, Rockport, 
Corpus Christi, Waco, ilarlin. Mineral Wells and Thurber, wul not be regretted. The country is old and well settled, the cities are 
large, and the smaller places have all modern comforts, so that a prospective visitor need uot worry about the hotel accommodations. 
The undeveloped mineral springs are generally near the smaller towns ; at the more remote springs reliance for accommodations must 

be placed on the farms in the neighborhood. The large 

cities like San Antonio, Waco, Houston, Galveston, f ' '-' 

Dallas, Fort Worth, etc., afford all the diversions 

common to Xorthern cities. In the smaller places, 

and within easy reach, there is hunting and fishing. 

Excepting an occasional deer in the woodland counties, 

large game is scarce, but squirrels, raccoons, opossums, 

quail, ducks and geese are still abundant along the 

lakes near Marshall and Jefferson, and the fishing is 

particularly good. The vicinity of Rockport, Corpus 

Christi, aud other points along the Texas Coast, is 

unexcelled for sea fishing and the shooting of waterfowl. 

For the pulmonary invalid, with whom climate is 
the essential remedial agent, different conditions are 
necessary. An active outdoor life he must lead, but not 
in the smoky, grimy, germ-laden atmosphere of the 
great cities, nor in the thick, foggy, humid air of the 
forests, of the lowlands, or the sea coast. Malaria 
is the mother of consumption, and wherever 
calomel and quinine are most extensively used, 
there consumption is the most prevalent, and 
gathers its har\-est. A prompt and rapid flight 
to a more favorable climate is the only hope of 
salvation. WTiere is this climate? Not along the 
sea coast, for the vapor-laden salt air causes the 

137 




rapid decomposition of the lung tissues in tubercular consumption. Not the pine forests of the Southeast, nor those of Oregon and 
Washington, nor the semi-tropical swamp lands of Florida, Cuba, or the Gulf Coast, for the warm, moist air relaxes the tissues and 
blood vessels, and enervates the whole system. Where malaria and the various climatic fevers prevail, consumption can only be 
aggravated and quickened in its destructive action. 




A HOME ox Till; RANCH. 



The place of refuge is where the sunshine is almost continuous the whole year round, and a rainy day or a cloudy day is a matter 
of remark ; where there is no stagnant water, and the annual evaporation is from 70 to 90 inches, from five to seven times as much as 
is the annual rainfall; where the ordinary thermometer in mid-summer registers 100 degrees in the shade, and the wet bulb ther- 
mometer hanging beside it, registers 55 degrees at the same time; where the evaporation from a porous earthen jar will cool the water 
within, on a hot day, almost as cold as ice water; where the carcass of a horse or cow does not putrefy, but simply dries up aud is 

138 



devoid of odor ; where a horse can travel SO miles in a day and show no sign of lathering ; where a man can sleep on the ground in 
the open air and arise refreshed and invigorated in the morning, and where malaria and sunstroke are utterly unknown. 

The place to be sought for is where the sky is of the deepest blue, where the waters rush rapidly, sparkling, purling and roaring 
over the rocky beds of their streams, and where the denizens of the deep make a vigorous fight for life, when caught on a hook; 
where the mountains, a hundred miles away, appear to stand on the next section corner, and distance cannot be estimated by any 
standard of measurement by the eye, practical elsewhere in humid climates; where the heavens are in all their glory at night, each 
star a brilliant light, scintillating, 
twinkling more brightly than else- 
where because of the absence of heavy 
moisture -laden vapors; where every 
day in the year the sick, the men, 
women and children, can be out of 
doors, walking, riding, or driving; 
where there are no sick, in fact, 
except those who come there for 
their health. 

There is such a country, many 
hundred miles in extent, little known 
as yet, but highly appreciated by 
those who have shared its benefits. 
Being new and but thinly settled, it 
could for a time afford but few of the 
comforts deemed necessary by the 
fashionable health seekers, but for 
one with moderate demands, there 
were ample accommodations. Out- 
door exercise, activity in tlie open air 
are necessary, and the feeling of 
homesickness, ennui, fostered by a 
prolonged stay in any one particular 
place, must be overcome by frequent 
changes of abode. The places advised 
to be visited in this region for a 
longer or shorter period are the 
following: 

Big Spring, Howard Countv, 
Texas. Altitude 2,400 feet; popu- 
lation 1,500, mostly merchants, 
railway employes and ranchmen. 

139 




A SPECIMEN OP TEXAS GRAPE.S KROM MIDLAND. 



Hotel accommodations good and at moderate cost. Attractions: Overland trips to surrounding ranches, to San Angelo and Concho 
River; quail, plover, rabbits, and small game of the prairies, and ducks and curlew in season. Write Jno. D. Birdwell, for hotel 
rates and other information. 

Midland, Midland County, Texas. Altitude 2,850 feet; attractive town of 1,500 inhabitants, surrounded by small irrigated 
orchards and vineyard. Good hotel accommodations. Attractions: Overland trips to surrounding cattle ranches. For information 
address Proprietoi Llano Hotel. 

Barstow, Ward County, Texas. Altitude 2,600 feet; population 200; hotel accommodations primitive; good beds and table with 
private families. Attractions: Irrigated farms, surrounding town and overland tours to Davis Mountains, Toyah Valley, etc. For 
information address Geo. E. Briggs, Barstow, Texas. 

Pecos City, Reeves County, Texas. .'Altitude 2.580 feet; population 1,500; mercantile and live stock interests; medicinal artesian 
waters; hotel accommodations primitive; better with private families. Attractions: Overland tours to cattle ranches. Fort Stockton 
and Fort Davis, both attractive health resorts, Toyah Lake for bathing and boating, Toyahvale and Victoria for hunting and fishing. 
For information address R. D. Gage, Pecos, Texas. 

Grand Falls, Ward County, Texas. Altitude 2,500 feet; population 400; first-class hotel for a limited number; sanitarium for 
consumptives. Attractions: Irrigated farms, overland tours to cattle ranches, Davis Mountains, Fort Stockton, Toyah Lake and 
Toyah Creek, reached by stage line via Monahaus Station, or by private conveyance via Barstow and Pecos. For information address 
Grand Falls Irrigation and Improvement Company. 

Eddy, Eddy County, New Mexico, via Pecos City, Texas. Altitude 3,100 feet; beautifully situated on bank of Pecos River, in 
the midst of 25,000 acres of farms, orchards and vineyards; population 2,000; first-class hotel and excellent private accommodations for 
visitors. Attractions: Irrigated farms and orchards, Avalon Lake, Mac Millan Lake, for boating and fishing; Black River, Pecos 
River, Seven Rivers, and Rocky Arroya, for scenery and bass fishing; overland tours to Guadaloupe Mountains, Guadaloupe Cave, 
Rush Ranch, Sulphur Springs, and foot-hills. Large game, such as black tail deer, black bear, turkeys, etc., abundant in the 
mountains, small game, such as quail, doves, plover, curlew, ducks, geese, rabbits, etc., within easy reach of town. Write to R. W. 
Tansill for information. 

Roswell, New Mexico, via Pecos City, Tex. Altitude, 3,900 feet. A stirring little city of 2,000 people; well built and attractive. 
Hotel accommodations fairly good, can also be had in private families. Attractions: The most beautiful irrigated area of 25,000 acres 
in the United States, with orchards that cannot be matched anywhere. Overland trips through exquisite mountain scenery to Lincoln, 
Nogal, Fort Stanton, El Capitan Mountains, White Mountains, and Apache reservation. Large game abundant in the mountains. 
Mountain trout in the Rio Ruidoso and Rio Bonita, tributaries of the Hondo; and bass and perch in abundance in North and South 
Spring Rivers, the Berrenda River, and the Bottomless Lakes, all in the vicinity of town. Sulphur and other medicinal artesian waters. 
For information address Roswell Commercial Club. 

Toyah Station, Reeves County, Tex. Altitude, 3,000 feet. Population 200. Good hotel, and artesian sulphur water. Attrac- 
tions: Overland tours to cattle ranches to Fort Davis, Lympia Canon, Phantom Lake, Davis Mountains, and Toyah Creek Valley. For 
information address C. M. Blair. 

Toyahvale, Reeves County, Tex. Altitude, 3,300 feet. Population about 50 Mexicans. Reached by private conveyance from 
Pecos and Toyah. Magnificent scenery, irrigated farms, excellent fishing and small game, such as ducks, quail, curlew, doves, in 
greatest abundance. Phantom Lake and Lympia Caiion within easy reach. Camping outfit required. 

Toyah Lake and Creek, 12 miles south of Pecos City, and reached only by private conveyance. Excellent salt water bathing, 
good hunting along the lake, and fine fishing along Toyah Creek, on road to Toyahvale. Camping outfit required 



Sierra Blanca, El Paso County, Texas. Altitude, 4,700 feet. Railway junction, with a good hotel. Attractions: Overland tours 
to Carrizo Mountains, Eagle, Diabolo and Quitman Mountains; mining camps, Hot Springs and splendid scenery. Camping outfit 
necessary. 

Ysleta and San Elizario, in El Paso County, Texas. Altitude, about 3,800 feet. Somnolent Mexican towns, of great antiquity, 
amid fine orchards, vineyards and farms. Hotel accommodations, for a limited number, very good. The man who invented sleep was 
born here, and those seeking a rest can find it here. 

El Paso, Texas. Altitude, 3,717 feet. This beautiful city of 20,000 people, convenient to quick and easy transportation to and 
from all directions, practically the half-way house between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and between Denver and the City of 
Mexico, has been the Mecca of the health-seeker and the resting place of the tourist for nearly a quarter of a century. Those that 
have been there carry with them a recoUecticJn of days pleasantly spent, and many a one has made the city his permanent home, 
because he dared not live elsewhere. El Paso offers to visitors all the attractions of city life and all modern conveniences, and a more 
pleasant permanent or temporary abiding place can not be found. From El Paso can be reached the Mexican cities of Juarez, 
Chihuahua, the City of Mexico, and the numerous other cities on the Mexican Central Railway ; the many hot .springs and health 
resorts in southern New Mexico; the glorious scenery in the Sierra Madre Mountains, to the southwest of El Paso; the beautiful 
scenery on the Rio Grande, and the Raton and Glorieta Mountains to the north, and northeasterly the Sacramento and the White 
Mountains, from 12,000 to 14,000 feet above sea-level. In the immediate neighborhood are Juarez, with its quaint cathedral, built 300 years 
ago, and its ancient Indian and Mexican architecture, in strong contrast with the fine brick and stone structures of to-day. For 25 
miles southeasterly are splendid drives, through orchards, gardens, farms and vineyards, to Ysleta and San Elizario on the American 
side, and other ancient, sleepy villages on the other. Up the river a mile or two are the great ore smelters, and further up more 
orchards and vineyards, and north of town, nestling against the great Franklin Mountain Range, Fort Bliss and its garrison of 
American soldiers. For local information, write to B. F. Darbyshire, or A. P. Coles, El Paso, Texas. 




JANUARY PLOWING IN TEXAS. 



Full Information 



In regard to tickets, rates, routes, connections, will be furnished; copies of folders, time tables, etc., sent; 

reservations in sleeping cars made ; and the general comfort of passengers looked after, 

on application to any of the gentlemen named below : 



NEW YORK. 
K. H. C.\RBINGTON, Eastern Passenger Agent :5i)l ISroaclway. 

LOS ANGELES. CAL. 
T. F. FITZGEKALD, Paeitic Coast Fass'r Agent. . .330 S. Spring St. 

EL PASO, T EX. 

B. F. UARBYSUIBE Southwestern Passenger Agent. 

PARIS, TEX. 
W. F. BKAGGINS Coniniereial .\gent . 

PITTSBURG, PA. 
S. H. THOMPSON, Passenger .Vgent 1 1 1'.» -Liberty St. 

CHICAGO, ILL. 
BISSELI, WILSOX, Disl. Pass'r .Vgt, 3Ii>. Pae. Ify 111 .VdamsSt. 
W. B. TOWN.SEND, T. P. and L. .\gt., Mo. Pae. K'y, ill Adams St. 

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. 

C. H. MOKG.4N Traveling Passengei- .Vgent. 

LOUISVILLE, KY. 
K.T. O. MATTHEWS, Traveling Pass'r .Vge 



.304 We.st Main St. 



INDIANAPOLIS, IND. 
G. .\. .-V. I>E.\NE, Jr., Traveling Passenger Agent 7 .Jackson Place. 



CHATTANOOGA, TENN. 
I. E. KEHLANUER, Traveling Passenger .Vgent. . 103 Bead House. 

MEMPHIS, TENN. 
E. F.\RNSWORTH, Traveling Passenger .Vgent ...314 Main Street. 

DETROIT, MICH. 
H. I). ARMSTRONG, Traveling I'assenger .Vgent . .7 Fort St., West. 

CINCINNATI. OHIO. 
A. X. G.V-I.I..\GHEK, District Passenger .Vgent .... 408 Vine Street. 

ATLANTA, GA. 
tT. H. WORI>, Southeastern I'assenger .\geiit . .No. 8 Kimball House. 

NEW ORLEANS, LA. 
A.S. GR.4H.\M, Passenger and Ticket .Vgent 033 Canal .Street. 

TEXARKANA, TEX. 
C. E. SWINDELL Ticket Agent. 

DALLAS, TEX. 
CH.VRLES T. GR.\Y, City Ticket Agent 19.5 Blain Street. 

FORT WORTH, TEX. 
H. P. HUGHES, Traveling Passenger Agent.. Sixth and Main Streets, 
J. F. Zl'RN, City Ticket Agent Sixth and Main Streets. 



For .special infonnation concerning business opportunities, either in commercial or industrial lines; for information regarding health 
resorts, hotel accommodations, etc. ; concerning irrigation and general farming, commercial truck and fruit growing. 

Address F. E. ROESLER, Dallas, Texas. 



L. S. THORNE, 

THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, 



E. P. TURNER, 

GENERAL PASSENGER AND TICKET AGENT, 



DALLAS, TEXAS. 



ii^r: 

Page. 

Introductory, a Bird's-e\e View of Texas •. . . 3 

Historical 7 

The Settlement of Texas 11 

Map No. 1 .'.... Facing 11 

The Texas & Pacific Railway 13 

Where to Look for a Home in Texas 19 

Blazing Out the Way 22 

Northern Texas — 

The Woodland Counties 23 

Bowie County 27 

The City of Texarkana 27 

Cass County 29 

Marion County 30 

Harrison County 32 

The City of Marshall 32 

Upshur County 34 

Gregg County 35 

Wood County 36 

Van Zandt County 37 

The Red River Counties 39 

Red River County 40 

Lamar County 42 

The City of Paris 42 

Fannin County 45 

Grayson County 47 

The City of Denison 48 

The City of Sherman 49 



Page. 

The Black Land Counties 51 

Kaufman County 53 

The City of Terrell 55 

The City and County of Dallas 55 

Tarrant County 61 

The City of Fort Worth 63 

Parker County ^. . 67 

The City of Weatherford 69 

Denton County 69 

The Farm, Orchard and Garden in Texas 71 

The Cross Timbers 77 

Palo Pinto County 78 

The City of Mineral Wells 80 

Stephens County 81 

Erath County 82 

Eastland County 84 

Callahan County 86 

Lands, Pricks and Terms of Sale 89 

Maps No. 2 and 3 Facing 91 

Stock Raising in Texas 91 

Western Texas — 

The Counties of the Plains 94 

The Soils of Western Texas 95 

Farming in Western Texas 97 

Taylor County 97 

Nolan County 99 

Mitchell County 100 



143 



TKge. 

The Pastoral Counties of Western Texas 103 

Howard County 103 

Martin Count}- 104 

Midland County 105 

Ector County 106 

Winkler County 107 

The Pecos and Trans- Pecos Country 108 

Ward County, Texas 109 

Reeves County, Texas ]09 

Pecos County, Texas 109 

Loving County, Texas 109 

El Paso County, Texas 109 

Eddy County, New Mexico 110 

Chaves County, New Mexico 110 

Irrigation Ill 

Farming in the Rio Grande Valley 113 



Page. 
Farming in the Pecos Valley 114 

The Cities and Tovi-ns of the Irrigated Region .... 118 

The City of El Paso 118 

Pecos City, Texas 120 

Barstow, Texas 121 

Grand Falls, Texas 121 

Toyahvale, Texas 122 

Eddy, New Mexico 122 

Roswell, New Mexico 123 

Mines and Mining in Texas 125 

Mineral Waters and Health Resorts 127 

Map No. 4 Facing 131 

Consumption and Climate 131 

Where to Seek Health as well as Pleasure 137 

List of General and Traveling Agents 142 




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